


The Deal

by SeoLovelyz



Category: Asagao Academy: Normal Boots Club
Genre: F/M, Flowertown - Freeform, Fluff, I can't tell if I love or hate this, Romance, basic and cliche, but eh whatever, can i get a hell yeah, college lyfe, unfortunately that's not the case, will add more character tags as the story goes on, you thought you'd seen the last of me
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-19
Updated: 2020-05-13
Packaged: 2020-06-30 12:34:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 34,099
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19853284
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SeoLovelyz/pseuds/SeoLovelyz
Summary: Luke has a lot planned as he goes into college:-hang out with friends-make decent grades-get into the university's big showcase-make his friend's ex girlfriend fall in love with him for his own selfish gainYou know, just typical college stuff.





	1. Sealed Fate

**Sealed Fate**

Luke took a deep breath as he stared at the black, velvet doors. Two growling, golden lion statues stood to the sides of the entrance, letting all visitors know they were not welcome. The boy slowly moved his shaking hand to the silver-coated door handle but immediately pulled back once he felt the cold metal hit his fingertips.

Get a grip, Sizemore! You’ve been working your ass off this whole summer; he’s bound to have noticed. College starts tomorrow; this is your last chance.

With a quick shake of his head, Luke put on his serious, determined visage and confidently entered. The walls were lined with vinyl records and signed posters. A new pop tune was playing from one of his father’s recent signed artists. Although the track was only released about a week ago, Luke had already heard it played on the radio at least 5 times. That was the power his father had: the power his son so desperately wanted to utilize.

Although he had been standing in front of his father’s desk for a good 10 seconds now, his presence had yet to be acknowledged.

The rapper cleared his throat, “Dad.”

Taking his time, the man finished signing a couple more papers before finally looking up, “Yes, son? How can I help you?”

He grabbed the remote in front of him and turned off the music before looking back down at his own flesh and blood. Luke unknowingly clenched his hands and bit his lip, the pressure slowly rising inside him as he prepared himself for the attack.

“I think I’m ready.”

His father raised an eyebrow, “You think you’re ready?”

Luke shook his head, “No, I _know_ I’m ready.”

The man released a deep sigh before pinching the bridge of his nose, “Luke, what exactly have you done that you feel shows you’re ready?”

“What haven’t I been doing?” he huffed, “I’ve been writing, producing, and recording non-stop. I’ve managed to make 5 songs within the course of a couple months. Am I just not talented enough or something?”

“No, of course you’re talented,” the man stood to pat the top of Luke’s head, “you are my son after all. It was never your musical ability that I’ve been concerned about.”

The rapper furrowed his brows, “What? ...then what’s the problem? Why can’t I just release my first album already?”

“Son, it’s time you realize that there’s more to becoming an artist than just talent and determination. You have to have a certain level of maturity. You have to start taking things more seriously.”

Luke scoffed as his father turned to readjust one of the records on the wall.

“I _am_ taking things seriously! That’s why I’ve been working so hard.”

His father clicked his tongue, “Yes, you’ve made a lot of songs. I’ve heard them, and they’re not bad. However, what else have you been doing?”

The rapper blinked, trying to figure out what he was insinuating, “What else am I supposed to do? I mean, I’ve already graduated.”

“That’s it right there,” the man’s glare shot daggers at Luke, “You might be getting ready to go to college, but in high school, you barely scraped by with your GPA, fooled around with various girls, and spent your free time playing video games with your little ‘club.’”

The man began walking back to his desk, “There are things other than your music that you need to take seriously, Luke.”

Flabbergasted, the boy tripped over his response, “W-well wh-what do you want me to do? I’ll do whatever it takes. I’ll prove to you that I can take my life seriously if you just give me a chance!” 

Luke clenched his teeth in frustration, determination seeping into his core. He was tired of waiting. Tired of feeling like his hard work was being wasted. He wanted to be seen, discovered, appreciated.

After standing still in complete silence for a couple seconds, his father finally took a seat in his red leather chair, intertwining his hands together as they laid upon his desk.

“Believe me when I say this: I want you to be able to live your dreams, but I just haven’t been able to see that you’re capable of handling what comes along with them.”

Luke hung his head low, accepting defeat once again. 

“However.”

His heart stopped as he looked up at the man who held his future in the palm of his hand.

“I can see your drive, and for that, I’m willing to make a deal with you.”

The man looked him directly in the eyes.

“If you can prove that you’ve changed and are taking life more seriously, I will let you debut your first album.”

If he wasn’t with his dad, Luke would’ve burst into a fit of excitement, but he had to keep his serious persona alive.

“What can I do to prove that to you?” he asked as calmly as he could.

The man hummed faintly as he pulled up some of Luke’s graduation pictures on his computer. The first picture to pop-up was one of the Hidden Block gang, all doing a silly pose for the camera. He rolled his eyes.

“Let’s see… I suppose your club is already disbanded now that you’ve graduated…”

He kept scrolling until he saw a picture of Luke holding his diploma in hand while wearing his cap and gown.

“Your GPA obviously isn’t salvageable now. Plus, you’re going to an arts college, so all the grading there will be subjective anyhow.”

The clock ticked as Luke’s father continued to scroll through the pictures, looking for some sort of inspiration. Suddenly, the man perked up at the sight of a large group picture.

“Luke… what was the name of that girl again?”

The rapper tilted his head, “What girl?”

“The one that was in your class. The pink-haired one. You introduced me to her at your graduation ceremony.”

“Oh, you mean Hana?”

The man snapped his fingers, “Ah, I remember now. You mentioned she’s one of the people who will be attending your university, right?”

Luke had no idea where this conversation was going, “Uh, yeah?”

His father clapped his hands together.

“Well that settles it. At the end of your first semester, I want you to come here with Hana for a dinner with me,” he stood tall and menacing, “and I want her to come with you as your girlfriend.”

“Wh-what?!” Luke couldn’t believe what he was hearing, “You’re joking, right? What does this have to do with taking my life seriously?”

“Quite frankly, Luke, I don’t think you’re capable of taking care of a nice girl. You tend to just find an easy target, have your fun, and then move on to whatever else captures your interest. Hana, from what I can recall, is the exact opposite of an easy target. She’ll have standards and want to be properly cared for by her partner.”

With a deep breath, he continued speaking, “I have a hard time believing you can take care of yourself, but if you can take care of a good girl on top of taking care of yourself, then I don’t think I have any choice other than to believe you’ve changed.”

Luke paused, “But dad, she’s dating one of my friends already. Could you pick literally anybody else?”

The man pressed his lips together before turning his chair to face away from his son, “I’ve set the deal on the table. It’s up to you whether or not you’re willing to take it.”

Luke had every desire to scream in frustration, to tell his father how unreasonable he was being, to demand he be given an album this instant… but it was never that easy. People always thought Luke had his whole life together: an aspiring rapper whose father owns one of the biggest record labels in the industry. However, they never knew how stubborn the man could be. It didn’t matter if Luke was 5 years old or 18 like he was now; he was always treated like a child who didn’t know what he was doing.

After biting his tongue to hold back his anger, Luke spoke again, just barely above a whisper.

“Deal.”

He exited the room without sparing his father another glance. Truthfully, Luke had no idea how he was supposed to accomplish his task. All he knew was that he would have to figure it out as soon as possible. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Is the premise of this story totally cliche and stupid?  
> Hell Yeah.
> 
> Am I still gonna write it?  
> HeLL YEaH.
> 
> (Also, idk why I keep making Luke's dad such an asshole in my stories. I promise it's not intentional.)


	2. Settling In

**Settling In**

“It has to be here somewhere,” Hana muttered under her breath, scanning every door she passed down the hallway.

Great. It was only her first day of college, and she was already lost, about to be late to her first class. 

With a sigh, she whipped out her crinkled school map and continued walking. 

“OK, let’s see… 362B should- oof!”

Her head hit another passer-by before she landed on the ground with a thud. Slowly, the pink-haired girl rubbed her forehead and looked up, “I’m so sorry; I should’ve watched where I was go-”

Once again, her words were cut off, but this time it was of her own volition.

“H-hana?” the familiar rapper grinned as he took in the girl in front of him.

“L-luke?” she responded, a smile forming on her face as well.

Without another second to spare, the two embraced each other.

“You’re the first familiar face I’ve seen so far!” the girl exclaimed as they pulled away.

“What an honor,” he said with a chuckle, “were you headed to class?”

Hana gave a disgruntled sigh, “Yeah, I was attempting to at least. You don’t happen to know where room 362B is do you?”

Luke’s eyes widened for a moment, “Wait, do you have literature with Mr. Nigiyaka?”

For a moment, the pink-haired girl’s eyes glittered, “A-are we in the same class? That’s amazing!”

She hopped up and down, making the rapper laugh.

“Yeah, it’ll be good to have someone I know there,” he glanced at his watch, “but we should get going. I know where it is, so let’s go together.”

He held out his hand and bit his lip, waiting with bated breath as she stared at his outstretched palm. Eventually, a big grin formed on her face as she registered what he wanted her to do.

She high-fived him, “Yeah, let’s go!”

Luke looked taken aback by her response but was quickly propelled into a fit of laughter. The confused stare she gave him only increased his desire to laugh.

“Wh-what’s so funny?” she asked, blushing while holding back her smile, “You’re making me all insecure.”

After finally regaining his composure, Luke patted her head, “You’re just even cuter than I remember.”

\-------------------------------------------------------------------

“If I knew we were just gonna go over the syllabus in class, I wouldn’t have read it prior to coming,” Hana complained as the students filed out of Mr. Nigiyaka’s class.

“That’s what you get for trying to get ahead, Mizuno,” Luke stuck out his tongue, earning a playful punch in the arm from the pink-haired girl.

She giggled while checking her phone for the time, “Hey, I’m actually about to go head to lunch with some friends. Do you wanna join?”

Luke nodded eagerly before stopping himself and clearing his throat, “Uh yeah, I’d be down for that.”

Hana proudly led the way to the cafeteria: the one place of which she actually knew the location. Along the way, she attempted to make casual conversation.

“So what have you been up to this summer?” 

“Oh, you know, just my usual song-writing and junk.”

Hana turned around, continuing to walk backwards, “That sounds awesome! I’d love to hear your new songs sometime.”

Just as she turned back around, she could’ve sworn she saw Luke’s cheeks turn pink, but surely, that was just her imagination. 

“What about you?” he asked, “You been spending a lot of time with Peebs?”

Her footsteps halted. Luke slightly faltered at her abrupt pause.

He didn’t know?  
She turned to face him, scanning his confused expression.

“Is everything OK?” the rapper asked.

“Well actually…” she licked her lips, “PBG and I broke up over the summer.”

If it weren’t for the other students passing by, Hana would’ve sworn that time stopped as every inch of Luke’s being froze. After a couple seconds, she waved her hand in front of his face, snapping him back to reality.

“R-really?!” he grabbed her arms excitedly, a beaming smile upon his face.

Once he registered the girl’s horrified expression, he quickly switched to a more pitiful face with a solemn tone, “I meant, awww, really?”

The young girl could not have been more perplexed and slightly scared than at that moment.

“Ummm… yeah?” she gently plucked his hands off her arms.

“Sorry,” he rubbed the back of his neck, “I was just… so surprised.”

With a sigh, Hana turned back around to continue walking to the cafeteria, “Yeah…”

Luke followed in silence for a couple seconds before speaking again, “Do you… want to talk about it?”

The girl shook her head wordlessly. She really didn’t want to think about him, but it was hard not to since he was the main reason she had a lot of the friends she had. Not to mention that Mai didn’t go to the same university either. 

After an awkward, quiet trip through the lunch line, the duo finally arrived at their destination. At a small table towards the back of the cafeteria sat the rambunctious Continue? boys alongside a blank-faced Shane. Hana’s expression lit up as their eyes landed on her.

“Hark! Could it be?!” called out Josh.

“It is! Our very own Hana Mizuno, bringing an enemy to our home base!” Paul concurred.

The Continue? trio laughed with delight as Luke gave them all fist bumps. Hana grinned at them as she sat down.

“Hi Shane,” she smiled sweetly at the Brit.

Much to her surprise, he gave her a kind smile in return, “Hello Hana.”

Although he hardly spoke 2 words to her, she felt her heart flutter. It was still so jarring to see Shane be hospitable with her to any degree. 

“Have you had your first class yet?” she asked while mixing together her rice and vegetables.

Shane nodded, “I’ve already had all my classes for the day actually. I’ve always preferred to get up early, so I suited my schedule to my tastes.”

Hana giggled, “We’re similar like that then. I’ve always been a morning person myself.”

He gave a small chuckle, avoiding eye contact, “You always have been a ray of sunshine.”

She felt her heart race a mile a minute. What was this feeling? Was this the same boy she knew back in high school?

Suddenly, she felt an arm around her waist and looked to see Luke placing his head onto her shoulder.

“I see you’ve managed to get my roommate in a talkative mood,” he commented.

Hana’s eyes widened, “You two are roommates?”

Shane didn’t answer; he just took a bite of his sandwich while grimacing at the rapper.

“Yup,” Luke held up a peace sign, “we’re like two peas in a pod.”

Hana snorted, finding that hard to believe. She quickly shimmied him off of her, making him pout.

“No other Hidden Block members ended up coming here, right?” asked Nick, re-engaging the boy’s attention.

Luke shook his head, “Nah, none of them were too interested in attending an art school I guess.”

“Sorry to hear that man,” Paul said while furrowing his brows, “but you’re always welcome to hang with us!”

Nick and Josh nodded eagerly in agreement.

“Thanks guys,” the rapper beamed.

Hana grinned at the sight of her friends bonding. They may be a much smaller group than back at Asagao, but she was thankful for them nonetheless. Surely college wouldn’t be bad as long as she had her friends around.


	3. Making a Move

**Making a Move**

It just had to be Hana Mizuno, didn’t it? 

Luke rubbed his eyes in frustration as he laid on his bed. Shane was out of the room doing God knows whatever he does to get up so early in the morning. It was about 9 AM on a Saturday; sunlight filtered through the blinds, keeping Luke from going back to sleep. Luckily, with classes just getting started, he didn’t have a lot on his agenda. 

Releasing himself from his blanket cocoon, he grabbed his phone and hesitantly stared at his contacts. His thumb hovered over the name “Hana Mizuno” as he debated whether or not he should call her. 

Surely there had to be some other solution, right?

Maybe he could just ask Hana to pretend to be his girlfriend for his father?

No way, he couldn’t just tell her he made this sort of bet with his father. Plus, she’d probably be uncomfortable with the idea of lying.

Maybe he could just hold off until a day or two before he was supposed to have dinner with his dad? A quick one and done?

Nah, too risky. What if she falls for someone else before he gets the chance to woo her?

Maybe he could just give up on releasing his first album?

Fuck. No.

Maybe he could get someone to dress up as Hana and pretend to be her?

...well, there was that one time that Josh-

Luke slapped his forehead. Who was he kidding? He was gonna have to do this the old fashioned way.

He stared once again at her name on his phone screen. With his eyes narrowed, he began to form a game plan.

Hana wasn’t like most girls he dated. In the words of his father, she was a “good girl.” She probably wants things like flowers, chocolates, and long walks on beaches or something, right? OK, but even before all of that cute couple stuff, how was he supposed to even get into the romantic zone? 

The rapper thought for a moment. What did PBG do? Didn’t he just act like an absolute fool until Luke popped in with his own plan to get them together?

He rolled his eyes. At least he had that leg-up on her previous boyfriend. But even if he did successfully get Hana to fall for him, what was he supposed to do afterwards? Just be like “Sorry, only dated you so I could release an album, lmao?”

A quiet groan escaped his lips. Honestly, all this internal debate was just giving him a headache. It was too early for this shit. Surely, the old Luke charm would be enough to steal her heart, and he could just worry about the details later.

With that last thought, he tapped her contact and brought the phone up to his ear. After a couple rings, she answered.

“Hello?”

“Good morning, gorgeous,” he greeted confidently.

A short silence followed.

“Uh, good morning to you too?” her voice was skeptical.

“Any chance I could steal some of your time?”

“Depends what for.”

“For fun.”

“What kind of fun?”

“Lots of fun.”

Hana sighed, making Luke chuckle.

“Look, I promise you’ll have a great time,” the rapper persuaded as he stretched his arms and sat up on his mattress.

Another short silence followed.

“I’ll have you know I take promises very seriously.”

A grin spread across Luke’s face, “So you’ll meet me in front of the library at 10 then?” 

Hana half-sighed, half-giggled in response, “I suppose so.”

“Great! See you soon, babe.”  
He hung up before she could react. With a smirk, he began changing clothes.

Yup, the old Luke charm gets them every time.

\-------------------------------

The boy smiled as he noticed the pink-haired girl jogging over to where he was standing. 

She was wearing a white chiffon shirt with a picture of a large pink bow printed on it; the sleeves and collar of the blouse were a matching pale pink color. She also wore simple, white shorts with white sneakers. Her hair was pulled up into a high ponytail, and she had a small, pink purse strung around her shoulder.

“You look adorable,” he commented, not quite used to seeing her in anything other than a school uniform yet.

Hana blushed slightly, “Thanks. You don’t look so bad yourself.”

Luke was wearing a white graphic tee with a large barcode printed on it alongside a black bomber jacket. Black jeans adorned his legs as well as some matching black sneakers with white laces on his feet. To top it all off, he wore his signature black snapback on his head.

“So are you ready to tell me what we’re doing?” she asked.

“You’ll figure it out as we go,” he smirked as he grabbed her hand and started walking.

She opened her mouth to object, but no words came out even as she was dragged alongside him to the closest bus stop. They arrived just in time to catch the bus before it left.

Luke let Hana have the window seat so she could enjoy the view. As they passed by various places throughout campus, she gingerly swayed her feet back and forth and watched the scenery. Luke couldn’t help but be drawn to her natural innocence. Pulling a classic move, he yawned and stretched as he placed his arm around her shoulders. Hana looked back over at him quizzically.

“Our school has a nice campus, huh?” he asked, paying no attention to her furrowed brows.

“Y-yeah, uh…” she paused to think for a moment, “Luke, are you OK?”

His eyes widened slightly, “What? Yeah, of course I’m OK. Why do you ask?”

“You’ve just been acting…” she struggled to find the right words, “strange recently.”

The rapper shrugged, “I don’t feel strange.”

Hana pressed her lips together; she seemed to be debating on what she wanted to say, but before she could express her thoughts, Luke stood up as the bus came to a halt.

“This is our stop." 

As they stepped out of the vehicle, Luke continued walking at a brisk pace with Hana trailing behind.

“I can walk myself, you know?” she huffed, referring to her hand held in his.

“I know; I just don’t want to lose you in the crowd,” he explained, walking a bit slower.

“It’s not like a girl with pink hair would be hard to spot.”

“Yeah, but,” he squeezed her hand gently, “I also just like having you close to me.”

Luke grinned at the redness appearing on her cheeks before returning his focus to their destination. They had been dropped off at their local mall, but he had a very specific place in mind for their date that day.

One of the “shops” inside the mall was actually a huge arcade. He had heard about the place but hadn’t been there himself. After stealing a glance at Hana as they walked inside, he grinned wider. Her eyes glistened underneath the arcade’s multi-colored lights, mouth slightly agape as she slowly took in her surroundings. Luke bit his lip to suppress a chuckle at her pure bewilderment.

“You ready for that fun I was talking about?” he asked while approaching a points card machine.

She giggled, “I guess so; how much does it cost?”

He released her hand before inserting his credit card into the machine, “Don’t worry about it. Today’s on me.”

“A-are you sure?”

The machine spit out a points card.

“Absolutely,” he assured, “what do you wanna play first?”

“I honestly don’t even know where to start,” she confessed, looking around at the myriad of game stations throughout the venue.

“No worries, cutie,” he placed his arm around her shoulders once more, “I’ll lead the way.”

Although she showed a flash of skepticism at first, she eventually just chuckled and followed along. Luke internally pumped his fist into the air. It seemed like Hana was finally up for the ride.

\----------------------

Many games later, the duo was starting to wind down. It was discovered that Hana excelled at timing and strategy-based games while Luke was better at speed and accuracy-based ones. At this point, they had pretty much tried out all the games they wanted to. That is until bright flashing lights caught Hana’s eyes.

“Hey look, it’s a pinball machine!” she skipped over to the device, admiring all the gadgets and gizmos built inside of it, “Are you still the pinball wizard you were back in high school?”

Luke chuckled, “Honestly haven’t played in a long time, but I’m sure I still have the magic touch.”

Hana rolled her eyes playfully as he cracked his knuckles and swiped his card. The machine lit up and made various beeping noises. Without hesitation, the rapper shot his first pinball. The girl’s mouth dropped as he effortlessly hit the ball into every nook and cranny of the machine, triggering bonus rounds, multi-balls, and dizzying lights galore. After about a minute or two, he released his hands and let the ball fall into the pit.

“Why did you stop?” Hana asked, still in awe at his performance.

“I don’t want to just make you watch me play pinball,” he explained while grabbing her wrist and pulling her towards the machine, “Besides, I’d rather see you give it a shot.”

She waved her hands in front of her face, “No thanks. I’m sure I’d be awful at it.”

“Aww, come on, just give it a chance,” he insisted, giving a small pout.

Hana found herself losing the willpower to argue, “Okay, fine, I’ll try.”

Slowly, she shot the second ball out into machine, and although it hit a few bumpers along the way, it still fell perfectly in between the flippers.

“Yup, that’s about how I thought it would go,” she joked.

“Hey, that was just bad luck,” Luke assured, “try one more time. I’ll help.”

With a sigh, Hana shot off the next pinball, cueing Luke to make his move. He approached her from behind, placing both of his hands over hers. With his chest pressed against her back, he put his head onto her shoulder.

“You just need to wait for the right moment,” he whispered as he used her finger to flip the paddle, sending the pinball flying across the board.

Hana shivered at the feeling of his breath on her neck, which only increased the rapper’s confidence. With a small smirk, he leaned in for the kill and kissed her cheek.

In the blink of an eye, Hana shook Luke’s embrace off of her. 

“I-I have to go to the bathroom now,” she announced before scurrying away.

Luke stood frozen in place. That didn’t go how it was supposed to go at all. Normally, when he made a move like that, his date would turn around and plant a kiss on his lips; this was certainly the first time his date just ran off instead.

Somewhat defeated, Luke walked over to the bathroom and leaned against the wall outside the entrance. A sigh escaped his lips as he thought back to his dilemma this morning.

It just had to be Hana Mizuno. 

After a few seconds ticked by, he started to become anxious, hands shaking slightly. A lot was riding on the success of this date, and he might have just blown it. 

Before long, Hana exited the girls' bathroom, her head hung low. Luke attempted to regain his composure as he approached her.

“H-hey, Hana,” he spoke gently, as if his tone could potentially break her.

She looked up at him but immediately avoided eye contact afterwards.

“I’m really sorry about what I did back there. I guess I let my joke go a little too far, huh?”

He chuckled nervously while Hana just blinked at him.

“Y-yeah, a bit,” she practically whispered while rubbing her arm shyly.

“How about I buy you lunch to make up for it?” he offered.

“N-no, it’s OK, that’s really not necessa-”

“Please?”

She looked into his hopeful, pleading eyes and knew she wouldn’t be able to reject his offer again.

“O-OK.”

Luke lit up like a firework as he excitedly led her over to the food court. They both decided to grab some Chinese food and were able to find a spare table rather quickly.

“Th-thanks for lunch,” she gave a gentle, cautious smile, which took a small weight off Luke’s shoulders.

“Anything for you,” he winked.

She gave him a slight grimace but then switched her attention to her food.

“So what were you planning to do today if I didn’t call you?” he decided to start some light conversation.

“Eh, not much,” she poured some plum sauce on her rice, “probably just mull over what I want to do for my big project due at the end of the semester.”

“Oh yeah,” Luke perked up, “I don’t think I ever asked what you were majoring in.”

“Oh, I’m actually majoring in game design,” she blushed a bit.

“No way! Really?!” he exclaimed, “That’s so dope!” 

A couple eyes from other people at lunch tables flickered in their direction.

“L-luke!” she whisper-shouted while hiding her face from the fellow mall-goers.

“Oh, sorry,” he leaned in and whispered, “That’s so dope!”

Hana released a tiny giggle, “Thanks. I imagine you’re majoring in something related to music. Is it possible to major in rap?”

“No, I’m actually majoring in vocal studies, but I’m doing a concentration in rap,” he explained.

“That’s perfect for you,” she grinned, making Luke’s chest tighten, “I hope I can hear some of your work sometime.”

“Anytime,” he flashed his most charming smile and relished in the pink color tinting her cheeks, “So what’s this big project you were talking about?”

“Oh, so all game design majors have to make a small video game by the end of the semester. I know that sounds crazy, but it’s not supposed to be good, long, or polished by any means. The department essentially just wants to encourage us to get our feet wet in all the things involved in making a game like the programming, art direction, and things of that nature.”

“Whoa, that’s insane,” the rapper’s eyes were wide, “I mean, I guess my department has something similar. We have a winter and spring showcase, so one for each semester. You have to audition to get in, but if you get accepted, you get to perform at the showcase, and lots of talent scouts come in to watch. It’s pretty cool.”

“Sounds exciting,” Hana took a sip of her drink, “Are you gonna audition?”

“Hell yeah,” the rapper flashed a peace sign.

“Well I’ll be sure to come see you if you make it.”

“IF I make it?” Luke clutched at the fabric of his shirt dramatically, “Oh how you wound me, Hana Mizuno.”

She laughed, “OK, fine, WHEN you make it.”

“That’s more like it.”

The two of them shared another laugh. Luke was relieved that the atmosphere had become light and cheerful again. It seemed his plan to woo the pink-haired girl wasn’t a total bust after all.

They continued to have light conversation as they finished up their meals and headed back over to the bus stop. By the time they got back to campus, it was around 3 PM. Luke made sure to walk Hana back over to her dormitory hand-in-hand. It seemed she had finally just accepted his flirty shenanigans. Once they reached the front door, Hana released Luke’s hand and turned to look at him.

“Well I hope I was able to keep my promise,” he grinned.

The girl twiddled her fingers with a small smile, “Yeah, you did.”

“So when do you want to go out again?”

Her eyes widened for a moment, “Y-you want to go out again?”

“Yeah,” he chuckled, a bit confused by her question, “of course I do.”

She blinked at him a few times, making the rapper more perplexed by the second.

“Luke... is there something you want to tell me?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean…” she bit her lip, “we both know I’m not the type you usually go for.”

This time it was his turn to be surprised.

“And?”

“And…” she rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly, “it’s just not like you at all, so I’m a little concerned.”

“People can change, Hana,” his words came out a little more aggressive than he intended. 

She sighed, “I know that, but… _you_ haven’t changed.”

Luke felt his hands tighten into fists. She sounded just like his father.

“How can you be so sure?” he spoke through clenched teeth.

Recognizing that she struck a nerve, Hana took a step back, “Well, you’re still so... forward and impulsive and… just carefree.”

He stood silently, feeling every word seep into his skull. It stung.

She licked her lips nervously, “I just don’t understand why the same arrow is aiming at a new target; that’s all.”

“Maybe there’s more to me than meets the eye,” Luke’s voice was stone cold, “Don’t act like you can read me.”

With a gulp, Hana looked down at her shoes. Surprisingly, she made no attempt to run away or even match his frustration. 

“I know I can't read you..." she paused, "That's what I'm scared of."

Luke was taken aback by her response. She's... scared?

Before his brain could process what to say in return, she mumbled, “Thanks for everything today.”

With that being said, she walked into her dorm without looking back. Meanwhile, Luke watched her every movement before she fell from his sight. Once she was gone, he began slowly stalking back towards his own dorm, overcome with a swirl of emotions.

He was… Confused. Upset. Regretful. Pensive. And that only scratched the surface.

With a deep breath, he approached his room, still lost in thought.

Yup, it just had to be Hana Mizuno.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope this wasn't a total train-wreck. I also hope you're all living your best lives. <3


	4. Changed?

**Changed?**

Hana grinned as she saw bright lights come into view. With every step she took, the clamor of students became increasingly louder. Within seconds, she found herself in the midst of carnival games, student organizations, and cheap amusement park rides. Careful not to bump into anyone, she narrowed her eyes in search of Paul, Nick, and/or Josh. 

Eventually, she spotted Nick tossing darts at some balloons at one of the stands. Paul and Josh weren’t too far behind him, obnoxiously cheering, attempting to throw him off. Hana giggled as she approached. Once she got closer, she saw that, not too far from the others, was Shane and…

Luke.

The pink-haired girl froze on the spot.

That afternoon she had received a text from Paul inviting her to join him and “the boys” at the carnival their university was hosting as part of their “Welcome Week.” She figured “the boys” was referring to the members of Continue? or maybe even Shane, but man, she was really hoping it didn’t include Luke. 

Their arcade date literally just happened yesterday, and with the note it ended on, Hana wanted to avoid interaction with the rapper at all costs. Needless to say, she wasn’t ready to face him at this moment. 

Was it too late to turn back? She could just go back and text Paul that she got sick all of a sudden. 

Unfortunately, Josh turned around and spotted her. She watched in horror as he opened his mouth to seal her fate.

“Hey Hana!” he exclaimed cheerily.

All eyes landed on her. With a gulp, she gave a shy smile and wave while fully approaching the group. Her eyes flickered to the rapper, taking note of the pure shock on his face.

“Oh man, I totally forgot to tell you guys I invited Hana too,” Paul rubbed her head, “Good to see you.”

She anxiously grabbed at the sleeves of her black sweater dress with pink polka dots. 

“I hope I’m not bothering anyone by being here,” she did her best to flash a genuine smile. 

“Not at all,” Shane assured, “You look lovely by the way.”

Hana’s heart skipped a beat as she began playing with her side ponytail, “Th-thanks.”

God, she kind of missed the Shane who would ignore the fact that she even existed. This nice one just made her feel nervous, like he was waiting until she least expected it to attack.

She couldn’t help but look over at Luke who seemed generally tense. He wasn’t speaking or even sparing her a glance. He just stood there, hands in the pockets of his jacket, staring at the ground. Was he mad?

“Come on, guys!” Nick made his way over to the group huddle, “You didn’t even watch me play.”

“We don’t need to watch you play to know you’re gonna lose,” Josh snickered.

“Shut up; you don’t even know if I won or lost.”

“Did you win?”

“Well… no, but that’s not the point!”

The two boys glared at one another, electricity somehow flashing between them.

Paul effortlessly slung his arms around both their shoulders, “Welp, I guess it’s time to move on.”

He smiled at Hana, “Any place in particular you want to go? I know you just got here.”

She brought her finger to her chin as she thought, “I don’t think there’s anywhere I want to go in particular. I kind of just wanted to look around and maybe ride the ferris wheel.”

“Perfect,” the boy’s eyes sparkled a bit, “the ferris wheel is pretty close to where we are now, so how about we do a circle around the fair and end our night on the ferris wheel?”

Hana smiled cheerily and nodded. 

Paul looked over at Shane and Luke, “Sound good to you guys?”

Luke grinned and gave a thumbs-up, while Shane just gave a half-hearted smile. 

Paul placed his hands on Nick and Josh’s heads, “What about you guys?”

The duo huffed while crossing their arms and turning away from one another.

With a sigh, Paul started walking, and the others followed.

Despite the unique, fun-filled festivities on every corner, Hana found herself paying more attention to Luke than anything else. Now that she had to be around him, she wanted to talk things out; she hated having this awkward tension in the air. Luckily, no one else seemed to notice it.

“Yo, check it out!” exclaimed Paul, snapping the pink-haired girl out of her thoughts, “It’s the ring toss game! Shane’s a total beast at this!”

“You are?” Hana asked the Brit.

He smirked, “Yeah, want me to show you?”

Intrigued and desperate for a distraction, she nodded enthusiastically. Shane confidently walked over to the stand, which was adorned with a myriad of stuffed animals along the back wall. There was a large set-up of bottles in the center, most being clear Coke bottles; however, there were 4 red bottles that were significantly taller than the rest and had an odd shape. The student manning the game booth didn’t seem the least bit interested in the approaching players as he typed something on his phone.

“Which stuffed animal do you want?” Shane asked, “I’ll win it for you.” 

Hana blushed and shook her head, “Oh no, it’s OK, you don’t have to win me anything.”

“Don’t worry about it,” he assured, “I  _ want _ to.”

She bit her lip sheepishly while looking around at the various plushies. Eventually, her eyes fell on one that she found particularly cute.

“I really like that pink bunny!” she said while pointing at the adorable plush on the shelf.

Shane tisked, “Looks like the top shelf ones can only be won if you get a ring on one of the red bottles. Those are specifically built to be impossible to land.”

He patted her head, “Sorry, is there another one you like?”

“No, it’s OK,” she smiled, her eyes forming little crescents, “I really like that cat plush too!”

She pointed to a small stuffed animal of a black cat. Truthfully, she didn’t like it anywhere near as much as the pink bunny, but she didn’t want to make Shane feel bad about not getting the one she wanted. 

He nodded and paid the worker for 3 rings. Shane only had to land 2 to win the cat, but he seamlessly landed all 3 rings onto 3 clear coke bottles. Hana looked in shock as the Continue? Trio hooted and hollered. Meanwhile, Luke just silently watched as the Brit handed the black cat over to an awestruck Hana.

“That was amazing! Thank you,” she hugged the cat to her chest with a big grin.

Shane smiled warmly at her, which continued to make her nervous. 

“Well done, but we better keep walking if we want to finish looking at everything before the carnival closes,” Paul suggested, signaling for everyone to continue. 

As the group explored some more, Hana attempted to walk next to Luke. At this point, she was extremely concerned. He had hardly been talking or... doing anything for that matter. However, she was still afraid to speak to him, so she decided to conduct some experiments.

Experiment #1: She held her new cat plush in the hand opposite of where Luke was standing, letting the hand closest to him hang loose. With bated breath, Hana waited to see if he would grab her hand. Eventually, he glanced down at her gently swinging palm.

Results of Experiment #1: Nothing. He glanced. That was it.

Experiment #2: She rubbed her arms and shivered slightly, attempting to look cold. There were a couple of things she’d anticipate Luke to do in this situation, so she just waited to see his reaction.

Results of Experiment #2: Shane offered his jacket to her, which she politely declined. Oh Shane, that’s sweet and all, but you’re interfering with science. 

Experiment #3: OK, it was time to talk, at least a little bit. 

“It’s really pretty isn’t it?”

Luke looked shocked that she was speaking to him at all, “Huh?”

“The lights and decorations of the carnival under the twinkling stars in the night sky,” Hana looked admiringly at the black sea above them glittered with little white lights, “It’s all just really beautiful.”

OK, she literally laid all the pieces out in front of him. This was the point where he’d say something flirty like “They’re not even half as beautiful as you, gorgeous” or some corny shit like that, right? Luke looked up at the sky as he bit the inside of his cheek. He then looked down, seemingly debating on what he wanted to say. After a couple seconds, he finally spoke.

Results of Experiment #3: 

“I guess.”

...That’s it? ...He guesses?

Final Conclusion: He hated her. Yup, any chance they had at rekindling their friendship was gone in Hana’s eyes. Not only was he not being his usual flirty self; he was hardly acting like he knew her at all. Why did she have to open her big mouth yesterday? She was just curious; she didn’t mean to hurt his feelings so bad.

After a couple stops here and there to look at various booths, the group finally reached the ferris wheel area again. 

“Well the carnival is supposed to close in like 15 minutes, so I think this is our last chance to do what we want,” Paul explained before grabbing Hana’s shoulders, “I’m really sorry, Hana, but Nick, Josh, and I were really intent on getting some funnel cake, so I hope you don’t mind us skipping out on the ferris wheel.”

Hana waved her hands in front of her face, “No worries! You guys go have fun. I don’t mind.”

The Continue? Trio did their signature 3-person high-five before racing each other to the nearest food stand.

“Mind if I join you on the ferris wheel?” Shane asked.

Hana blinked in surprise, “Huh? Oh, of course.”

She turned to look at Luke, who she caught staring at her. Once they made eye contact, he immediately turned his head to the side, a slight redness appearing on his cheeks. 

Although she knew he hated her at this point, she didn’t want to be inhospitable.

“W-would you like to join us, Luke?”

The rapper’s eyes widened as he briefly made eye contact again, “Uh, nah, there’s actually some other stuff I’d like to do before everything shuts down.”

“Oh… OK.”

Hana found herself feeling a twinge of disappointment as she and Shane approached the ferris wheel. Most people who wanted to ride it had already done so, leaving the line devoid of students. The duo stepped inside the red passenger car, sitting across from each other.

Before long, the machinery whirred to life and slowly brought them higher. Hana admired the view outside, watching the leftover patrons get their last-minute fun. She easily found Paul, Nick, and Josh in the crowd. They had obtained their funnel cakes; however, Josh had run off with them, and the other two were hot on his tail. Hana giggled to herself before averting her attention elsewhere. She couldn’t seem to find Luke anywhere.

“The view’s really nice from here.”

Hana jumped, startled. She had forgotten Shane was with her.

“Y-yeah, it’s really nice. You can almost see the whole campus from up here.”

The Brit nodded with a small smile, “What was your favorite part of the carnival?”

“Hmmm…” she looked down at the cat plush sitting on her lap, “the part where I got a new pet!”

She held up the black kitty with a cheerful smile, making the boy’s grin grow wider.

“What about you? What was your favorite part?”

“This part right now.”

Wide-eyed, Hana stared at the boy across from her. This part?

He didn’t elaborate on his answer. Instead, he just smiled at her for a bit before turning his gaze back towards the window. 

“What’s been on your mind?” he asked.

The girl blinked rapidly, “What do you mean?”

“You’ve seemed troubled.” 

Had she been making it that obvious? Nonetheless, maybe she could get some insight from Shane.

“H-has Luke been acting odd to you tonight?”

He looked at her, a weird expression on his face, “Luke?”

“Yeah, he just hasn’t been acting like himself.”

The Brit stiffened a bit, “I see, so you’ve been worried about Luke.”

A flash of disappointment appeared on his visage, “He hasn’t seemed strange to me. Maybe a bit quieter, but I try not to question good things.”

They both chuckled, the atmosphere feeling more comfortable. Although she appreciated Shane’s light-hearted input, Hana was still uneasy. It wasn’t enough to convince her that Luke didn’t hate her.

By the time the duo exited their cart, a lot of the tables and booths had begun taking their decorations down. To Hana’s surprise, the other guys were waiting for them at the ferris wheel’s exit. 

“There they are!” exclaimed Nick excitedly.

“Hope you guys had fun,” Paul gave a thumbs-up.

“But not  _ too _ much fun,” Josh snickered, earning a grimace from Shane.

“Yeah, it was nice,” Hana beamed, unaware of Josh’s teasing, “what about you guys?”

“Well we  _ were _ having fun until Josh dropped our funnel cakes,” Nick spat.

“Hey, I said I was sorry!” the accused held his hands up in self defense.

“What did you end up doing, Luke?” Paul asked the rapper.

“Just checked out some of the student artists’ booths, talked to a few of the music majors, stuff like that,” he spoke casually.

“Nice, maybe we should’ve done that,” Paul laughed, “Since when have you been so responsible?”

Luke shrugged and chuckled. Hana tried not to stare at him skeptically.

Nick clapped his hands together, “Well I guess it’s time to head back; we do have classes tomorrow after all.”

The group walked together out of the carnival area, eventually reaching a point where they had to separate.

“I can walk you back to your dorm if you’d like,” Shane offered to Hana.

She had gotten a little more used to the kind Shane, so she wouldn’t have minded him walking her back. However, she had a mission to clear up the storm in her head.

“Actually, Luke already offered to walk me back,” she lied, taking a step closer to the rapper.

Shane glanced at Luke’s surprised expression, “He did?”

“Yeah,” she ran a hand through her hair, “we already texted about it earlier.”

With one eyebrow raised, the Brit nodded slowly, “OK, then. See you guys tomorrow at lunch I guess.”

Hana smiled and waved as the other guys walked away.

“Why did you say that?” Luke asked once the others were out of earshot.

Good Lord, were those really the first words he was going to say to her of his own volition?

“I just wanted to talk to you,” she confessed shyly, starting the short walk to her dorm, “Hope you don’t mind.”

He shook his head, following by her side. A few seconds of silence passed. Although she really did want to talk, Hana struggled to think of what she wanted to say.

“I’m… I’m really sorry if I hurt your feelings yesterday,” she finally spoke.

Luke licked his lips, “No, don’t be sorry. You didn’t hurt my feelings.”

She looked at him with pure shock, “I-I didn’t?”

He shook his head once more, “No.”

“Then why?” she whispered to herself.

“Why what?”

Shit, he wasn’t supposed to hear that.

“No, it’s nothing,” she rubbed her arm.

Luke opened his mouth to say something but then ultimately decided against it. 

When they arrived at Hana’s dorm, she felt like nothing had really gotten accomplished.

“Well, thank you for walking me,” she held her stuffed kitty behind her back.

“Hang on,” he said as he reached into his inner jacket pocket.

Hana’s mouth fell open slightly as she saw him pull out the pink bunny she wanted from the ring toss game. He held it out for her with a gentle smile. Gingerly, she took the bunny into her hands.

“H-how did you get this?” she asked.

“I played the ring toss game while you were on the ferris wheel,” Luke explained plainly. 

“B-but Shane said it’s basically impossible to get a ring onto the red bottles.”

He shrugged, “Basically impossible doesn’t mean totally impossible.”

Pure bewilderment was spread onto Hana’s face. She looked down at the pink bunny. Clearly Luke didn’t hate her if he won this for her. But then what was wrong? He was obviously not acting like himself. He was quiet, reserved, and even gave up on the opportunity to show off the fact that he could do the supposed “impossible” at the ring toss. 

That’s when it all hit her at once.

She laughed. Hard. Hysterically even. 

Luke looked at her like she was insane.

“What’s so funny?”

She wiped a tear from her eye before engulfing Luke into a big bear hug. Hesitantly, he returned the embrace, smiling softly into the top of her head.

“I think you misunderstood what I said yesterday,” she giggled.

“Misunderstood?”

She released her hold on him, “Have you been trying to prove that you’ve changed, Luke?”

The boy’s silence alongside his shocked expression said more than words ever could.

“If so, then I don’t think you understood me,” Hana grinned widely, “I never wanted you to change.”

Luke blinked with owlish eyes, completely perplexed, “Y-you didn’t?”

Hana giggled again, filled with relief that this was all a huge misunderstanding. Taking the opportunity to tease him, she stood on her tip-toes and placed a kiss on his cheek.

“I like Luke Sizemore just the way he is.”

The boy stood frozen in place, but before he could regain his composure, Hana retreated to her dorm. Her heart was racing a mile a minute; she had never done something so forward before in her whole life, but hell, if Luke wasn’t gonna be forward, someone needed to put the universe back in balance.

“Good night,” she waved, before closing the front door.

She felt a sort of giddiness from seeing a blush appear on Luke’s cheeks as he smiled and waved in return. 

Filled with newfound energy, she was able to quickly shower, brush her teeth, and hop into bed. However, her heart felt like a roller coaster that couldn’t stop. She wasn’t sure if she was feeling relief, excitement, nervousness, or a mixture of all of them. As a result, Hana had trouble falling asleep that night, but it was in one of the best ways possible.

\--------------------------------

The following morning, the pink-haired girl sat down at her usual desk in her literature class. About 5 minutes before it was time to start the lesson, Luke walked in and sat down next to her.

“Good morning, sunshine,” he greeted with his signature, charming smile.

Hana giggled, thankful everything was back to normal.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My life's a mess, so this chapter probably is too. Regardless, I love these clueless dorks.
> 
> Anyhow, remember to drink lots of water, kiddos. Also, like tell your parents you love them sometimes.


	5. Impulse

**Impulse**

Luke exited the recording studio, bursting with confidence. It was a Friday afternoon; he had finished his classes for the day and already flew through his weekend homework. His music courses were attempting to teach all the students as if they were new to the recording process, so the assignments so far have been an absolute breeze for the seasoned rapper. 

He checked his watch. It was 4:26 PM. With a cheeky grin, Luke headed into the university’s convenience store and grabbed some strawberry pocky sticks. He then casually strode over to the south commons area of the library in search of his pink-haired target.

Hana had explained how this was the location where she always studies in the late afternoon. On another occasion, she mentioned strawberry pocky sticks being her favorite snack. Man, it was amazing what you could learn by just listening to someone.

Luke and Hana had been interacting a lot on a daily basis. Ever since their talk after the carnival, they’ve been able to just chat and be themselves, which was a liberating experience for the rapper. Attempting to be the anti-Luke at the carnival was the most infuriating thing he ever had to do, so when Hana revealed that she didn’t want him to change, he couldn’t help but be overcome with relief.

“ _I like Luke Sizemore just the way he is._ ”

Those words still rang in his ears occasionally, sending electricity through his veins and warming the spot she kissed on his cheek. He wasn’t quite sure why the memory made him feel that way, but he figured it was because it meant he was one step closer to his debut album.

Besides, what other reason could it be?

Luke’s eyes glittered as he spotted the girl on his mind, scribbling into a notebook with an open textbook beside her. He sneakily side-stepped behind her and placed his hands in front of her glasses, careful not to actually touch them.

“Guess who.”

The girl gave a slight chuckle before pulling his hands away from her face.

“Not now, Luke. I wanna make sure I finish taking notes on this chapter before tomorrow.”

Although her words were kind of cold, Luke happily took note of the small smile on her face as she continued writing.

“Is that any way to greet someone who brought you these?” he slid the pocky sticks over to her.

Her eyes widened, “You got these for me? You didn’t have to do that.”

He couldn’t help but smile as she cheerfully picked up the pink box, “I know, but I figured you deserve a reward after all your hard work studying this week.”

The absolute joy of getting her favorite snack was plastered all over her face, but she shook her head and slid it back over to him, “I can’t accept this. I already owe you for the arcade and for Momo.”

“Momo?” he furrowed his brows until he noticed Hana’s face turning incredibly red.

Suddenly, a large grin grew on his own face, “Is that what you named the rabbit?”

“You weren’t supposed to know that,” she brushed her hair to cover her blush, “Just f-forget I said anything.”

Before she could even finish her sentence, Luke wrapped his arms around her.

“Awwww you named the bunny Momo?” he pinched her cheek, laughing at the pout she made in response.

“Sh-shut up!” she grumbled, somehow turning an even deeper shade of red.

“What? I think it’s adorable,” he continued to tease her.

With a shimmy, she shook his arms off and stood up, “That’s it. I’m moving elsewhere.”

“Wait wait wait!” he whisper-shouted, pulling her arm back down, “I’m sorry, OK?”

Luke held the snack box in front of her face with a smirk, “Here are some pocky sticks to make up for it.”

Although she held her grumpy expression for a while, she eventually broke into a fit of giggles, “You are _so_ stubborn.”

She grabbed the box and scanned it for a bit before looking back at the cocky rapper, “If you’re gonna make me take this, at least share it with me.”

After watching her open the package and place the box between them, Luke smiled mischievously.

“OK, let’s split this one,” he suggested before placing half of a pocky stick into his mouth, holding the other end of it near hers.

Hana narrowed her eyes at the rapper, who just winked in response. 

She gave him a small smirk, “Sure.”

With as much sass as she could muster, she used her fingers to break off the other half of the stick and popped that end into her own mouth. Luke pouted angrily as he chewed his own half, earning an additional giggle from his pink-haired companion.

Something he noticed throughout the week was Hana’s decreased reaction to his advances. When Luke first started flirting with her, she would freeze and/or blush madly, which filled him with satisfaction, but lately, she’s become more immune to his moves, hardly reacting or just making some sort of witty remark in return. Was his charm wearing off?

“Thanks for sharing,” she joked after swallowing her snack.

“Yup, I’m all about giving,” he put his hands behind his head, keeping up his bold persona, “Boyfriend of the year, am I right?”

“Whose boyfriend is that?” she asked while underlining the vocabulary on her note sheet.

“Yours if you’d like.”

Her pencil broke. She turned to stare at his playful grin before chuckling nervously.

“God, are you shooting your shot right now?” she laughed.

“Yes.”

She froze, surprised by his direct and simple answer. Luke inwardly high-fived himself. Knowing that he could still make her flustered gave him a necessary confidence boost.

“A-are you being serious?” she asked, the playful tone leaving her voice.

He nodded, heartbeat quickly escalating, “Hana, will you be my girlfriend?”

Her lips parted slightly as her eyes flickered to various parts of the table in thought. Luke hadn’t planned on this being the moment he’d ask her out, but he was spontaneous and just felt like it flowed with where he was attempting to steer the conversation. Plus, if his charms only wore off with time, he had to act fast.

Eventually, she bit her lip and shyly brushed her hair behind her ear, the sight making Luke’s heart skip a beat.

“Look, I really need to finish these notes… C-could I have some time to think about it?” she seemed to be struggling to make eye contact.

The rapper’s heart sank; he had no idea if this was a good or bad sign. No girl had ever requested more time to think before. What the hell did she need to think about? 

Despite his nerve-wracking curiosity, he knew questioning her was not the way to go.

“Yeah, that’s totally fine. I’ll just uh leave you to it then.”

“Thank you. I really appre-”

“On one condition.”

Startled by the interruption, she managed to face him. His expression was much more serious than she was used to seeing.

Luke licked his lips, “Meet me in front of the library at 9 tonight.”

“Why do you-”

“Please.”

Brows slightly furrowed, he gave a gentle and sincere smile, a hopeful aura emanating from his presence. Hana blushed slightly as she hunched her shoulders inwards.

“OK,” she whispered, giving him a matching smile of her own.

A sense of excitement filled his chest as Luke grinned brightly and grabbed his belongings, “Great. I’ll see you soon.”

“See you,” she waved as he slowly left her vision.

\--------------------------------

“OK, you can take it off now.”

Hana cautiously untied the blindfold around her head, allowing her eyes to readjust to the light. Once her vision flickered into clarity, her mouth hung open. She was standing at the top of a grassy hill, where a large oak tree towered over her. A red checkered blanket laid upon the ground with a picnic basket on its center. To top it all off, the enchanting night sky was marbled with black and dark blue hues that provided a mesmerizing sea in which the white stars could swim.

Luke relished in her awestruck gaze, “So what do you think?”

She turned to look at him before smiling shyly, “It’s… It’s beautiful.”

He sensed that his confession earlier that day may have made things a bit more awkward between them. Perhaps asking her to meet at night and then having her wear a blindfold to a mysterious location didn’t help her nerves either, but he was still confident that he could turn this night around. Seeing her expression light up at the sight of his set-up only affirmed this belief. 

“Come on,” he walked over to the blanket, “let’s sit down.”

The girl did as instructed and watched as the rapper opened the basket. He proceeded to pull out two pink cupcakes with white frosting alongside two red soda cans. 

“Ta-da! Strawberry cupcakes plus strawberry sodas,” he beamed at the snacks.

A giggle escaped her lips, “I see you remembered that strawberries are my favorite fruit.”

He shrugged with a slight blush, “Hopefully I won’t be the reason you get tired of it.”

“Not a chance,” she grinned while taking one of the cupcakes, “I… I really can’t thank you enough for everything you’ve done for me.”

Luke smiled in return, “It’s my pleasure. Don’t worry about being indebted to me or anything like that, OK?”

She nodded before brushing her hair behind her ear. The atmosphere became lighter and more comfortable as the students chatted and ate. Any awkward tension that was previously there quickly became non existent. 

Luke found Hana’s presence generally comforting. Despite the whole “Get-Hana-to-Date-Me” scheme, all their conversations were so natural and actually interesting. It made the whole operation much easier and more enjoyable. Sometimes he would even forget the real reason he was spending so much time with her in the first place.

“Hey,” Hana snapped him out of his thoughts as she looked out towards the student walkway at the bottom of the hill, “what’s everyone doing down there?”

Luke looked down at the mass of congregated college kids that were either standing or sitting all along the university pathway. Realization instantly dawned on him as he checked his watch: 9:29 PM.

“Oh shit, let’s move over by the tree,” he ignored her confused expression and took her hand in his.

Once they were at the oak tree, he sat down with his back against the trunk and gestured for Hana to do the same.

“Why are we sitting here now?” she asked.

“You’ll see,” he grinned.

Hana pouted, still confused, but then, all of a sudden, a loud crack startled her. She looked towards the noise and saw the aftermath of a golden firework. Within a mere second, another string of fireworks followed, dazzling the sky with red, blue, and green streams of light. Cheers filled the air from the huddle of students down at the bottom; it looked like the fireworks were being shot from down there. 

“How did you know this was going to happen?” she asked Luke, who was extremely pleased with himself.

“Come on, Mizuno,” he rubbed her head, “Haven’t you been paying attention to the Welcome Week events? This is the grand finale.”

She silently chuckled and returned her attention back to the light display, basking in the colors as they danced across the sky. The boy did the same, but he couldn’t resist occasionally looking back at his partner, admiring her genuine look of wonder. 

After a couple minutes passed, he felt compelled to make a move. Slowly but surely he wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her closer to him. His heart swelled as he watched her shyly cover her cheeks with her hair.

“L-Luke…” she squeaked.

Something about the tone in her voice concerned him, “Yeah?”

“We can’t keep doing this…”

He slinked his arm back over to his side, “Keep doing what?”

“Going out alone and being so close,” she cleared her throat, “People might spread rumors that we’re an item or something.”

“Well then let’s make them not rumors.”

The final firework went off, a loud burst of color spreading across the sky, but Hana was busy gazing at Luke, the lights reflecting in his eyes.

“Hana…” he gulped as he stared back at the girl beside him, “can you tell me what’s holding you back?”

The girl wrung her hands together as she averted her gaze to the ground, “Remember last week when we got back from the arcade?”

Luke inhaled sharply, “Of course.”

Oh, he definitely remembered it. Her words that day left him confused and frustrated; it was when he realized things weren’t going to be as simple as he had hoped.

“Well, I don’t think you ever understood the question I was trying to ask you then.”

He blinked, trying to recall what she said. She mentioned how she felt he hadn’t changed, which triggered pent up anger he had with his father. Unfortunately, most of the other things she said blurred.

“Let’s try again then,” he gave her a look of pure determination that almost made her smile.

With a deep breath, she spoke, “Why me?”

Taken aback, the rapper wasn’t sure how to respond immediately, “Huh?”

“Come on,” she gave a bitter chuckle, “You never showed any interest in me until we got into college. Plus, I knew some of the girls you dated in high school, and… quite frankly, they were all very different from me. It just feels like you did a 180 on your taste in girls for no reason.”

He could sense the strain in her voice. Had this been troubling her?

“Hana…” he gently rubbed her shoulder, “There are so many things to like about you. You’re adorable, kind, smart, hard-working, and… well, I don’t wanna be here all night, so let me just say this…”

He turned his entire body to face her directly, “I like you, Hana Mizuno. I’m sorry that I didn’t notice your amazing qualities in high school, but let me prove that I know and value them now.”

His hands grabbed hers, and he felt his body become weightless as she squeezed his in return, “Just give me a chance. Maybe I’m not the best at explaining, and you’ll probably have to deal with me being a dumbass sometimes, but I’ll do my best to make you happy, OK?”

Although her face was practically a solid red color, she giggled cheerfully.

“Luke, you already make me happy,” her visage was glowing, “I wasn’t lying when I said I like you just the way you are. I just... don’t want you to regret going out with me. I think I’m rather bland compared to the other girls you’ve been with…”

“What?” he was genuinely shocked, “you’re not bland at all. I really like being around you.”

Hana seemed to be releasing her nerves by rubbing the back of his hands with her thumbs, which was a calming gesture Luke was happy to accept since he felt like his chest was going to explode with anticipation. All the words he had been spouting seemed to come out of nowhere, but it wasn’t like he was lying. He really did think highly of Hana, which made the whole deal with his father increasingly guilt-inducing. Nonetheless, he had to do what he had to do. 

“Well… if you truly feel that way…” she bit her lip with a small smile.

Luke’s eyes widened, “D-does that mean...?”

She nodded.

Overcome with boundless joy, the boy, against his better judgement, tackled her to the ground with a hug. 

“L-Luke!” she giggled as he squeezed her harder, “I c-can’t breathe!”

He pushed himself up, “Sorry, I’m just… really happy.”

They both smiled at each other with Luke’s body looming over Hana’s. He scanned her facial features, hypnotized by her glowing blue eyes and flowing locks of pink hair against the grass. A rosy tint decorated her cheeks, and her fair skin practically glowed in the moonlight. Finally, his eyes reached her pink lips that gently curved into a grin. From there, he couldn’t seem to avert his gaze.

He leaned in, closing his eyes, anticipating the warm, soft caress of her lips against his own. However, a high-pitched squeak interrupted his fantasy. His eyes shot open to reveal the pink-haired girl with her eyes squeezed shut and tiny, loose fists covering the bottom half of her face. Bewildered, he watched as she cautiously opened her eyes again.

“I-I’m not ready for that yet…” she confessed, refusing to make eye contact, “I-I’m sorry.”

“No, don’t be sorry,” he pushed himself off of her to sit on his knees, “I kind of jumped the gun on that one.”

He rubbed the back of his neck nervously as she sat up to lean against the tree. Luckily, she didn’t seem upset; however, her shyness was at a maximum, suddenly taking great interest in a particular blade of grass. Why didn’t she want to kiss him? Actually…

Why did he want to kiss her?

It’s not like that was part of the deal. Maybe he was getting too into character?

Regardless, he needed to salvage this moment before she regretted her decision.

“Leave it to me to mess things up immediately,” the rapper joked, determined to mitigate the awkward tension, “Here, let me try again.”

He turned around and cleared his throat before facing her once more.

“Hi,” he held out his hand, “I’m Luke Sizemore.”

She released tiny laugh, her demeanor loosening a bit, “I’m Hana Mizuno.”

“A pretty name for a pretty girl,” he winked, earning a playful eye roll from his partner, “Do you happen to have a boyfriend by chance?”

She grinned while rubbing her arm, “I do actually.”

His whole face lit up, “Oh really? What kind of guy is he?”

“Well…” she wrapped her arms around her knees, “he’s super flirty but also super funny. He tends to act on impulse, but he’s very kind and thoughtful. He somehow manages to make my heart beat really fast, even when he’s not around…”

She shied her face away, too embarrassed to talk any further. Luke was glad she couldn’t see the huge, goofy grin on his face accompanied by his fiery red cheeks.

“He sounds like a total loser,” he joked, making Hana giggle.

“Only sometimes,” she teased.

“Wow.”

They burst into a fit of laughter, both filled with comfort and joy. Noticing that the mood had been lifted and that it was getting pretty late, Luke offered to walk Hana back to her dorm, which she happily accepted. For the first time, she was the one who instigated holding hands, which filled him with unexplainable elation. After a quick hug goodbye, he began the trek back to his own dorm. However, he was overflowing with energy, so he essentially sprinted all the way back.

Shane looked quite surprised to see Luke burst into their room grinning widely and out of breath.

“What has you all riled up?” he asked, returning his paintbrush to a water cup.

“Oh nothing man. Life’s just good,” the rapper plopped onto his bed with a content sigh, only confusing the Brit even more.

Nonetheless, Shane didn’t seem to care enough to question Luke further. Meanwhile, the latter closed his eyes and smiled.

He did it. He won. He was gonna get that album afterall.

Sure, he had to maintain the relationship up until the meeting with his father in the winter, but that was a bit easier. The hard part was over.

He should be relieved. He should be relaxed. He should feel at ease.

But then… why was his heart still beating so fast?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heyo! Sorry I've been generally MIA; I'm dealing with a lot of change in my life atm but everything should be handled in the next week or two.  
> Anyhow, as always, I hope you're all enjoying life. ^^


	6. Warnings

**Warnings**

“Haaaaaannnnnnnnaaaaaaa!”

The pink-haired girl released a hearty laugh. Just hearing the sound of her voice was invigorating.

“Hi Mai!” she still had the giggles, “How are you?”

“I’m fine, but God, I miss you so much!”

Hana laid on her stomach, tucking the phone between her ear and shoulder, “Same here! Try to come visit sometime if you can. The campus is really beautiful.”

“Will do! And speaking of beautiful, you’ll never believe the hot guy who sits next to me in math!”

Hana grinned widely as she listened to Mai’s hot guy ramblings, her cheeks starting to hurt. She really missed her best friend’s boy craziness and general love for life. Mai was always such a ball of energy; it was truly an infectious quality.

“So anyway, enough about my love life, how’s  _ yours _ going?” she cooed, “Some of the Normal Boots boys are with you, right?”

The pink-haired girl bit her lip, “Yeah, Paul, Nick, Josh, and Shane are all here.”

The red-head made a slight gasp through the phone, “Ooooh, OK. An interesting selection, but they’re all super cute, so it sounds like you’re in a good spot. All that matters is that he-who-shall-not-be-named isn’t around.”

Hana felt her body tense. It had been a while since anyone had mentioned PBG. The guys, whether intentional or not, were good about not bringing him up around her.

“Luke’s here too actually,” she mentioned, attempting to steer the conversation away from her ex.

“Oh yeah, totally forgot about him being there with you. Is he the only Block?”

Hana nodded and then proceeded to inwardly slap herself for attempting to nod during a phone conversation, “Yeah, he’s the only one.”

“Well that’s good. Less of a headache for you,” she laughed, “Anyways, Hana, we have to get down to business.”

The redhead cleared her throat, “I know you don’t usually like talking about this, but I have to know.”

After a brief pause, she spoke again, “Do you have a crush on anyone?”

Hana could practically see Mai’s eyes glowing in front of her.

“Uh, y-yeah, actually,” she pushed up her glasses while flipping to lay on her back.

“I knew it!” her best friend squealed with delight, “OK, now, tell me everything!”

The pink-haired girl was honestly surprised Mai couldn’t hear her heart about to burst from her chest. She had been dating Luke for about 2 weeks now and had neglected to relay that piece of information to her best friend. It wasn’t that she had forgotten about the perky volleyball player; she was just afraid of her reaction. Mai had always spoken about the Hidden Block members as if they were scary creatures to be avoided. Sure, she’d admit some of them were cute, but above all, she would warn Hana to steer clear of the black and yellow jackets, supposedly for the sake of her reputation.

Despite her best efforts to heed her roommate’s warnings, it was only natural for Hana to develop relationships with the opposing team since Normal Boots and Hidden Block were actually really close friends. Ian, for example, clicked with her instantly. Not only did they both love playing the same game, they also just related on a lot of things in both personality and morals. Mai was not too fond of Hana’s blossoming friendship with the moose, but she kept her mouth shut for the sake of her friend’s happiness. However, the pink-haired girl feared that she might not be so tolerant of her  _ dating _ a Block.

“Well…” she folded herself into a ball, bracing for impact, “I’m actually dating him right now…”

A high-pitched shriek erupted into Hana’s right ear, making her wince.

“Are you serious?!” she was practically panting with excitement, “Oh my God, now you  _ really _ have to tell me everything. Which one is it? Wait, don’t tell me! Let me guess! Hmmm... I always thought you and Paul would work really well. No wait, maybe after dating someone so rambunctious, you’d pursue the strong silent type like Shane? But then again, I always thought you and Nick would be seriously adorable. Actually- ohemgee, Hana, I can’t take it anymore; just tell me!”

The whole world seemed to stand still. She gulped while staring at the ceiling.

Just spit it out, Hana! 

“It’s Luke,” she revealed, instantly covering her mouth afterwards. 

Silence.

…

Knowing Mai was on the line without emitting any sort of noise was a rather eerie experience.

…

“M-mai?” Hana squeaked out.

“WHAT?!” 

At that moment, the redhead had re-defined shock; she was the very embodiment of it. It almost made the news feel like a surprise to Hana.

“Y-yeah, Luke and I have been dating f-for about 2 weeks now…” 

Somehow, she felt like she was repenting a sin to her pastor.

“Hana, are you nuts?!”

“What’s wrong with dating Luke?” she stuck her lip out into a pout.

“Uh, everything! Don’t you know about his reputation?”

The accused inhaled sharply. Reputation?

With a sigh, her ex-roommate continued, “I know you don’t want to hear this, but he’s just using you, Hana. You’re only convenient for him.”

A match had been lit inside the pink-haired girl’s chest.

“How can you say that so easily? You don’t even know him.”

Mai scoffed, making Hana ball her free-hand into a fist. 

“Uh, no, YOU don’t even know him. I’ve been in the same class as that boy since we were kids, and I can safely say that he is bad news.”

The fire began to grow.

“Maybe people can change! He’s been nothing but sweet and considerate to me since college started.”

“OK, yeah, interesting how he suddenly developed feelings for you now that you’re the only girl he knows, huh?”

The flames were spreading.

“Th-that’s not important! I’m sure he could have gotten any other girl if he wanted to, but he chose me! Is it so hard to believe that he’d actually like me?”

“You know that’s not what I mean! Luke doesn’t take relationships seriously! He just goes for girls who are easy, and you know what? That’s you right now; you’re being easy!”  
A forest fire was running rampant, clouding Hana’s chest with raging smoke.

“Maybe you’re just jealous that I’m in a happy relationship and you’re not!”

The silence that followed her outburst was enough to extinguish the ravaging flames, but the ashes only culminated into a mountain of guilt. Heavy breaths could be heard through the phone as both girls attempted to cool down.

“I-I’m sorry, Mai. That was wrong of me to say,” a tear of frustration rolled down her cheek.

“N-no,” she responded, “I’m sorry too. I said some things I shouldn’t have.”

The tone of the conversation wasn’t quite awkward; it was more somber and regretful, which was somehow worse. It left a feeling of white noise in Hana’s heart.

The red-head sighed, “I just care about you, so I want you to be with someone who’ll be good to you. You’re right; people can change, and I trust your judgement. It’s just hard for me to believe after practically growing up with him.”

The pink-haired girl took a deep breath, “Thank you for caring about me so much. You’ve been my best friend for a long time, and it means a lot that you’re looking out for me, but I’ve made my own decision on this. I trust you, but at this point, I trust Luke too. However, I know you’ve known him longer than I have, so I promise to be careful and not make any rash decisions when it comes to our relationship.”

Mai released a breathy giggle, “That’s all I ask.”

Hana smiled, embracing a much more comfortable silence.

“I love you, Hana.”

“I love you too, Mai.”

“I also expect regular relationship updates. I need to know whether I should squeal or I need to make him squeal, got it?”

With a laugh, Hana gave a salute, “Yes, ma'am.”

“Good girl,” Mai chuckled, “I better let you go, but we need to talk again soon. I’ll try to schedule a visit sometime too.”

“Sounds great!”

With that, the girls exchanged goodbyes and ended the call. Hana sighed as she sprawled her body across her bed. She wasn’t sure if that reveal could be classified as good or bad, but either way, she felt that she had Mai’s overall support, which was all that mattered. 

Even with the comfort of that, she couldn’t help but worry about the supposed “reputation” Mai had referenced. She knew Luke had dated a lot here and there, but was there something beyond that?

With a shake of her head, she re-opened her phone’s contacts.

One best friend confession down. One more to go.

\------------------------------

Luke wiped the sweat off his forehead as he pushed open the gym doors. He had just finished a workout when his cell suddenly rang.

A grin spread across his face as he checked the caller ID.

He hit the answer button, “Hey dude, it’s been a while!”

“What the fuck is this I hear about you dating Hana?”

A pin seemed to pierce his chest, but he kept his composure, “Oh, me? I’ve been doing great. Thanks for asking. How about you?”

“Luke, I swear to God, I’ll murder you.”

He chuckled, “It’s true. We’re dating. How’d you find out?” 

The rapper took a swig from his water bottle as he continued the trek back to his dorm.

“She called me and told me herself.”

Luke suddenly choked and broke into a coughing fit, effectively spitting out his water. Once he was able to breathe normally again, his voice was dark and cold.

“What did you tell her?”

Ian tisked, “Why? Scared?”

His snarkiness only pissed Luke off further, “Dude, I’m fucking serious.”

The moose scoffed, “Against my better judgement, I didn’t tell her about the time you told your girlfriend to meet you somewhere so you could secretly go flirt with her roommate. Also neglected to tell her about the time you stood a girl up because you got bored of her. Also forgot to tell her about-”

“OK, OK, I get it. I’m a piece of shit. Now tell me what you actually told her,” he glanced around, checking to make sure no one he knew was within earshot.

He could practically feel Ian rolling his eyes as he spoke, “In classic Hana fashion, she felt the need to confess that you two have been dating and gushed about how ‘sweet’ and ‘thoughtful’ you’ve been, which I managed to not laugh at. You’re welcome.”

“I don’t give a fuck what she said; what did  _ you _ say?” he attempted to use rage to mask his desperation. Ian was Luke’s roommate for multiple years back at Asagao, and he definitely knew enough about the latter’s love life to make any affection Hana felt towards the rapper disappear forever.

Ian sighed, “I told her I wished you two the best.”

Luke released a breath he had no clue he was holding, an invisible weight being lifted off his shoulders. 

“But,” his ex-roommate, however, clearly wasn’t finished with this conversation, “I only said that because I wanted to hear what  _ you _ had to say before I unleash a flood of stories about all your past relationships.”

Luke stopped in his tracks, “You wouldn’t.”

“Eh, depends,” Ian’s tone was as nonchalant as could be, “you better start talking.”

With a gulp, the rapper took a moment to think. Ian knew him inside and out; he wouldn’t fall for the typical “I’m just in love with her” answer, but with how much Ian cared about Hana, there was no way he’d accept the real answer either. This man could single-handedly ruin everything Luke planned, but he hadn’t prepared an explanation that would pass by his friend’s standards.

“I-I’m just curious.”

“What the fuck does that mean?”

“She’s just so… different compared to my past girlfriends; I wanted to try something new.”

“That’s some bullshit.”

Luke grit his teeth, “What the hell do you know? Maybe I just like her!”

“Except you don’t! You like relationships that are easy to start and stop because you’re too damn dense to handle actual feelings!”

Knowing he was about to enter a screaming match, the rapper jogged over to a more secluded area, further away from dawdling students.

“You don’t know a damn thing about how I feel!” he finally responded, “I know I did some shitty things in the past; I’m not gonna deny that, but fuck, you act like I can’t possibly have actual chemistry with someone.”

Ian laughed, filling Luke with unspeakable anger, “What the hell would you know about chemistry? You’ve never once treated dating like anything more than a game, and now you’re acting like you’ve suddenly changed? That’s fucking rich.”

Why did everyone think he couldn’t possibly change? How much of a monster was he to the point that no one trusted him when it came to love and relationships?

“No, you know what’s rich?” Luke’s fury had him on autopilot at this point, “The fact that you’re supposed to be my  _ friend _ , yet you’re blowing off every word that comes out of my mouth. I know you like to pretend you’re Hana’s overprotective big brother for some damn reason, but why are you trying to save her from your own friend, huh? Your roommate for 4 years? Does it just make you feel fucking good to hold that knife you can stab in my back? Is that what fucking gets you off?”

Not a word was exchanged as Luke proceeded to seethe, heavy breaths attempting to expel the tension held in his muscles. Meanwhile. Ian didn’t make a sound.

“Fine.”

The rapper jumped a bit, in shock at Ian being the first to break the silence.

“Fine?”

“Fine, I won’t do anything. I won’t say anything. I won’t tell Hana anything. I just won’t interfere, but listen to this: I know you’ve got something up your sleeve. At this point, I don’t even give a shit what it is, but you better not hurt Hana.”

Luke snarled, tired of his opponent having the upper-hand “Or else what? If I hurt her, then what use are your stories about me? You just gonna make her feel bad for not knowing better?”

The moose chuckled, “You’re right; I don’t have collateral on her in that situation, but you were dumb enough to play games with a girl that actually matters to not only me but to all your friends. The second you slip up I’ll make sure everyone knows exactly what happened; then see how many friends you have left.”

The sound of the call ending pinged into Luke’s ear. With a growl, he threw his gym bag onto the ground. Who the fuck does he think he is?

With a loud grunt, the rapper sat down, his head in his hands. He felt like a ticking bomb that would go off at any second. As much as he wanted to tell himself he didn’t need his friends, he knew how false that statement was, but it didn’t matter. Hurting Hana is inevitable once his plan concludes, so it looked like losing his friends would be the same. He shook his head vigorously; it was too late to turn back now. When he was a famous rapper, he wouldn’t need his old friends; he’d be too busy hanging out with celebrities, touring the globe, and meeting adoring fans. 

Needless to say, Luke was stuck, his fate already sealed 2 weeks ago. The hot steam suffocating his brain took away his ability to use any sort of logic or empathy. All he knew was that he needed his plan with Hana to work, and he would do anything to make sure it did.

He knew that now more than ever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Howdy friends! I'm still getting my life together especially since school starts back tomorrow (big yikes), but hopefully things have been better for you all <3 
> 
> Also, I kinda loved/hated writing all the arguments in this chapter, so I have no idea how it feels to just read them lmao.


	7. Annoyance

**Annoyance**

Luke was annoyed….

  * Annoyed that Hana was so beloved.



A couple days ago, she had fallen ill and was stuck in bed. She alerted the group chat that she would be unable to attend their usual lunch appointment, so in an attempt to be a good boyfriend, Luke bought some soup and a couple water bottles to bring to her dorm at lunchtime. Much to his surprise, the other guys were already in her room by the time he got there.

“About time you showed up,” Nick teased the rapper as Shane placed a cold towelette onto Hana’s forehead.

“Wh-what are you guys doing here?” Luke asked, a bit flustered by the sudden crowd.

“What do you think we’re doing here? We’re taking care of our favorite pinkette,” Paul chuckled, “Looks like you had the same idea.”

He nodded his head towards Luke’s grocery bag. The rapper blushed slightly as he gently set the items onto the ground. 

“You guys really didn’t have to go through all this trouble,” the pink-haired girl croaked, clearly not in the best condition.

“Hey, we always want to help if we can,” Josh beamed as he pulled her covers to tuck her further into bed.

Nick clapped Luke on the back, “This guy on the other-hand has an obligation to take good care of you.”

“Yup, or he’ll have to answer to us,” Paul joked further.

The rapper attempted to laugh along with them, but he found himself feeling awkward. Although he knew they were just joking around now, it was becoming clearer and clearer that Ian’s threat from the week prior wasn’t empty.

“Hey Hana,” Josh called out, “has Luke been being a good boyfriend?”

She gave a weak smile.

“Of course,” the girl coughed a couple times before speaking again, “He’s been the best.”

Those sweet words stung, pouring salt into Luke’s already open wound.

“That’s good to hear,” Josh grinned while giving the rapper a thumbs up, “Well, we’ll leave you two alone I suppose.”

“Get well soon,” Paul waved.

“Rest up!” Nick exclaimed.

“Feel better,” Shane mumbled. 

Before long, the couple was alone. Although there was a small smile upon Hana’s face, her pale skin signaled the life that was drained out of her. Luke sat down by the bed and stroked a hand through her hair. 

“Sorry I’m late,” he joked, making her giggle.

“You really didn’t need to come,” she held his hand, “but it means a lot that you did.”

Even in sickness, she was kind and considerate. No wonder everyone adored her.

  * Annoyed that Hana was so pure.



Last Saturday, Luke suggested going to a new ice cream shop downtown for a date. She was super excited over the idea; she even wore a hair clip with a cherry on it, adorably explaining how it made her look like a sundae. 

Whenever they went out to eat, Luke would always offer to pay for Hana, but she normally refused and paid for herself. This was always a surprise to the rapper since her only source of income was from her work-study job at the university’s library, which hardly ever scheduled her and paid minimum wage. That week in particular, she had only made about 1500 ¥.

However, on the way to the ice cream shop, they passed by a ragged old man sitting against the wall of a closed business. He had a long, grey beard and was wearing some dirty clothing with multiple tears. He was breathing heavily and didn’t seem to mind the ants that were crawling up his arm.

Hana stopped in front of him and stared for a second. Before Luke could question her actions, she pulled out her wallet from her purse and extracted 1000 ¥ from it. With a cheery smile, she held the money out to the man, who looked at her wide-eyed. Shakily, he gently plucked the offering from her hand and smiled, revealing that he was missing about a quarter of his teeth.

“Thank you, young lady,” he spoke in a weak, gruff voice.

“My pleasure,” she grinned back at him with a bow before continuing the walk to their destination.

Luke followed her, stunned.

“Why did you do that? That was majority of the money you made this week.”

She shrugged, “I’m lucky enough to have a full-ride scholarship that includes a meal plan. Some people aren’t so lucky. Plus, I made sure to still have enough to get ice-cream.”

“But what if he spends it on like cigarettes or something?” 

Luke recalled his father never giving money to the poor, claiming they would always waste it on things like drugs and alcohol.

The girl spun around with a gentle smile.

“You should have more faith in people, Luke,” she giggled, “Besides, if that’s what truly makes him happy, even if for just a moment, then that’s fine with me.”

Once she finished her sentence, they arrived at their destination. As Luke watched the pink-haired girl’s eyes twinkle admiringly at the multitude of flavors, he reflected on her words. Suddenly, he understood why Ian was so protective of her.

She was too pure for such a cold world.

  * Annoyed that Hana was so thoughtful.



When Luke had 3 exams scheduled for the same day, he found himself overly stressed. He did his best to hide his feelings so that no one would bother worrying about him, but he spent multiple nights studying for the varying subjects, which was increasingly draining. Although he didn’t care much about grades back in high school, college was a different beast. His professors had connections to some of the top producers in the world, and while he already had his own father on his side, he still didn’t want to burn any bridges in the entertainment industry by making himself known as a slacker. 

Once Luke finally conquered the last exam of that torturous day, he was exhausted. He trudged back to his dorm room with his backpack slung over his shoulder, suddenly feeling like it was filled with a ton of bricks. Upon arrival, he pushed open the door to reveal his girlfriend setting something up on his desk. She turned towards him in surprise before unleashing a bright smile.

“Hi Luke!” she skipped over and gave him a hug.

Although slightly irritated, he still made sure to give a tired grin and place a kiss on her forehead, “Hey babe, what brings you here?”

She released her embrace, “I saw how much your exams have been troubling you, so I wanted to celebrate once you finished.”

“Look,” she walked over to his desk and revealed a food spread, “I prepared some snacks for you to re-energize.”

With a small hop, she gestured towards his TV set, which already had _Stomp_ set up, “And I thought maybe you’d like to play a game together to have some fun too.”

Hana put her hands behind her back and swayed back and forth on her heels shyly, “I know this isn’t much, but I hope it helps.”

Luke’s exhaustion mixed with the kind gesture almost brought tears to his eyes. 

“Th-thank you, Hana, this is amazing,” he embraced her again, “It’s just what I needed.”

She giggled with glee, showing off her infectious smile. Luke couldn’t remember the last time someone had done something so thoughtful for him, but he also couldn’t help feeling that he didn’t deserve it.

  * Annoyed that Hana was so selfless.



Flash forward to the present day, when Hana and Luke planned to go on a romantic stroll in the morning. He arrived at her door, wearing one of his favorite band T-shirts with some blue shorts and black sneakers. After a couple knocks from the rapper, Hana exited her room, revealing her pink, long-sleeved, chiffon shirt paired with a blue and pink plaid tennis skirt and white sneakers.

“You always look adorable for our dates,” Luke complimented while wrapping his arms around her waist to pull her closer, “You don’t need to dress your best for me.”

“Well…” she grinned while poking his chest, “This is your favorite band, isn’t it?”

Luke nodded before kissing her nose, secretly relishing in the fact that she remembered that about him.

“Then that means you’re dressing your best for me, so it’s only fair if I do the same.”

His heart fluttered, which was concerning. He was supposed to be sweeping her off her feet, not the other way around, yet somehow, she always managed to charm him, usually without even trying.

“Hey, do you mind if we stop by the post office real quick? I just need to check my mailbox.”

Luke put his arm around her shoulders, “Yeah, no problem.”

The couple walked over to the campus postal service hand-in-hand. The distance was pretty short, so they didn’t expend much energy at all to get there. Once inside, Hana gave her student ID to the clerk, who promptly handed her a white envelope with a golden trim. She thanked the worker before staring at the sender’s information.

Without even glancing back at Luke, she opened the letter and took out the piece of paper inside it. He couldn’t read what the message said, but he could tell that the paper was hand-written and rather lengthy. The rapper observed curiously as her eyes scanned the message from top to bottom, tears quickly pooling in her eyes.

“Wh-what’s wrong?” he asked, shocked at the sudden change of mood.

She shook her head while wiping the tears, “No, nothing’s wrong it’s just…”

With a small sniffle, she continued, “It’s a birthday card from my dad. I haven’t seen him since school started, and I just miss him.”

Luke put his arm around her and led her outside, assuming she didn’t want to cry in front of the post office workers. She wasn’t full-out sobbing, but tears were streaming as she sniffled and whimpered occasionally. With a quick kiss on the forehead, he pulled her in for an embrace. This was the first time she cried in front of him, and it was unexpectedly painful to witness. He felt like his heart was shriveling up inside of his chest.

“I’m sorry, Hana,” he whispered while gently taking the letter from her hand.

With his arms still wrapped around her, he began folding the paper to stick it back inside the envelope; however, he noticed the large, written words “Happy Birthday” at the top.

“Wait…” he thought aloud, “When’s your birthday?”

She pulled herself together a bit more, her eyes no longer dripping. 

“It was actually…” she sniffled, “yesterday.”

Luke’s eyes widened, “What? Why didn’t you tell… hang on, wasn’t it Paul’s birthday yesterday?”

The girl nodded, “That’s why I didn’t say anything. I didn’t want to take away from his celebration.”

Yesterday, the gang went out together to explore town and eat dinner for Paul’s birthday. Everyone had a ton of fun, goofing around off campus, and everyone pitched in to pay for Paul’s meal, including Hana. Just the fact that she kept quiet about her own birthday was selfless enough, but she even contributed to someone else’s, which was absolutely insane in Luke’s eyes.

“But when were you planning to celebrate your birthday then?” he asked while wiping away any stray tears from her cheeks.

She bit her lip, “I just didn’t plan to celebrate it… It’s honestly not a big deal. That’s always what I did when it was Paul’s birthday back at Asagao too.”

The rapper stood, stunned. That was so… pitiful. How did she manage to get through 3 years of just no one noticing that it was never Hana’s birthday? 

“No way,” Luke proclaimed while grabbing her hands, “We’re gonna celebrate today. What do you want to do for your birthday?”

Hana giggled shyly while wiping away any remaining tear streaks on her face, “I just want to go on a walk with you like we planned.”

Luke sighed ~~dreamily~~ as he brushed her hair behind her ear, “Well let’s go then.”

Obviously, he wasn’t going to let the festivities stop there, but he was more than happy for that to be where their day started. 

  * Above all, Luke was annoyed with himself. 



He hated the fact that he’d have to break the heart of someone so precious. This was why he didn’t date supposed “good girls.” They were too nice, too naive, too pure, yet despite the prejudices he already had against “good girls,” he had absolutely no idea how much of an effect Hana would have on him. 

Waking up in the morning for class went from being dreadful to being exciting all because he got to sit next to her. Free spaces in his schedule went from being boring and lonely to being opportunities for dates with her. Even his lyrics within the last few weeks, seemed to flow so much more naturally because they were all inspired by her. 

It was all because of her that his life changed so positively.

But…

It was also because of her that the deal he made with his father went from a golden opportunity to a looming threat that haunted him. He thought he could just go through with his plan without getting attached or showing any signs of empathy, but he was dead wrong.

After their walk that morning, he suggested taking her to a variety of places: the mall, the zoo, the roller rink, a fancy restaurant, etc. He wanted to give her anything and everything to feed the guilt that was eating away at his conscience. 

However, with each suggestion, she’d just smile and shake her head.

“I don’t need all that. I just want to spend time with you.”

It hurt so much more to know that all she wanted was to be around him, but as she desired, they just ate at a nearby fast food joint and then went to go play games in the rapper’s room. Shane was gone for the weekend for some sort of field trip his art class was taking, so the couple was able to enjoy themselves alone.

Luke ~~loved~~ hated every second of it.

Even as he laid down on his bed, snuggled up to the peaceful pink-haired girl who had fallen asleep while watching a movie, he found himself tormented. He had his arms wrapped around her torso, but every part of him that touched her burned, as if the darkness he embodied didn’t have any right to mingle with the light that she possessed. Despite the pain, he held her tighter while burying his face into her hair, praying that the burning sensation, that his mounting guilt, that all these annoyances would just disappear.

But they didn’t.


	8. I Trust You

**I Trust You**

“Do you want to tell me what’s on your mind?”

Hana looked up at her boyfriend with a small pout. Her eyebrows furrowed as she squeezed his hand, attempting to comfort whatever seemed to be plaguing him. 

“Nothing’s on my mind,” he insisted with a mumble.

The pink-haired girl folded her arms, “Then why have you been so quiet?”

He shrugged, “Just don’t have much to say.”

Hana pressed her lips together, “OK, then why have I been winning every round of _Nario Kart_ today when you’ve always beat me before?”

“...Maybe I’m just off my game today.”

“Come on, Luke,” she huffed, “you can tell me anything, you know?”

He sighed, “I just don’t want to talk about it, OK?”

A bit surprised by his answer, the girl’s eyes widened before looking down at her lap. The atmosphere was slightly awkward, and she really didn’t know what to make of her boyfriend’s behavior today. She hated seeing him look so down and wanted to help alleviate whatever the issue was, but he wasn’t giving her anything to work with. 

“W-well what do you want to do then?” she spoke softly.

“Whatever you want to do is fine.”

She scooted closer to snuggle up against him, “But I want to do whatever will make you feel better.”

“I feel fine,” he grumbled.

“...but you clearly don’t…” she mumbled while twiddling her thumbs.

“I said I feel fine! Can we just drop it?!” 

Hana shrank back in alarm at his sudden outburst; he had never yelled at her before.

“I-I’m sorry,” she whimpered, shaking slightly.

The rapper sighed and rubbed his forehead for a few seconds before speaking again, “No, I’m sorry, Hana. I’ve just… had a lot on my mind.”

She didn’t dare say it, but it had been extremely obvious that something was bothering him for the past few days. He lacked the energy and confidence he normally possessed and seemed to flinch every time she made physical contact with him. It was as if _she_ was the source of his discomfort, but Hana had no clue what she had done to make him feel this way. Regardless of whether or not she understood why he was upset, she was pretty sure she knew what it entailed.

“I think I know what’s been going on, Luke,” she confessed, feeling her heartbeat quicken.

His whole body stiffened as he shifted his wide eyes to meet hers, “Y-you do?”

She took note of his trembling hands and gulped, “Y-yeah, and I want you to know that I don’t blame you.”

He blinked at her a few times, “You… don’t?”

“Not at all,” she tried to chuckle light-heartedly, but it came out extremely forced, “You should just go after what your heart desires.”

Luke’s expression was of pure shock, “D-does that mean you’re just… OK with it?”

Her gaze fell to the floor. Somewhere inside of her, she hoped that he would deny her claim, but she truly did just want his happiness.

“I mean… honestly speaking, I’m not OK with it,” a tear rolled down her cheek, but she held back any sobs, “but I want whatever is best for you.”

She smiled weakly as another tear rolled down her cheek; Luke quickly brushed the tear away with his finger.

“I’m… I’m so sorry, Hana,” he whispered before placing a kiss on her forehead, “I thought it could all just be quick and painless, but I was wrong.”

She shook her head, “No, it still can be! Here, I’ll do it for you.”

Hana stood up and choked back a sob, “We… We’re done, Luke.”

His eyes practically popped out of his head, “What?”

“I said we’re done. We’re over,” a sob managed to escape, “I’ll just leave now.”

Although she wanted to be strong for his sake, it still hurt like hell as she grabbed her jacket and headed towards the door to his room. However, much to her surprise, he sprang up and grabbed onto her arms.

“No, wait!” he looked panicked, “Y-you thought I wanted to break up with you?”  
She blinked with a sniffle, “Yeah? Wasn’t that why you’ve been acting so different?”

The rapper chuckled while pulling her into an embrace, “No, that’s not it at all.”

Hana felt her body loosen, melting into her boyfriend’s arms. She had never been so thankful to be wrong.

“Th-then what did _you_ think I was talking about?” she asked, brows furrowed.

“I just…” he sighed into her hair, “I’ve been… feeling guilty.”

She pulled away and tilted her head to the side, “Guilty?”

With the bite of his lip, he held her hands, but his eyes still avoided hers, “Has Ian told you anything about me?”

She shook her head, and he seemed to relax a bit.

“What about Mai?”

Hana inhaled sharply, “She’s… warned me about your past relationships.”

Luke nodded knowingly, “So how do you feel about that?”

“Well…” she thought for a moment, “Honestly, I don’t know a lot of details about what you did before, but as you’ve said in the past, people can change. I believe that.”

A small smile appeared on his face as he ran a hand through her hair. Just seeing that smile filled her with boundless joy. 

“I want to believe I’ve changed too, but... don’t you worry that maybe I’m still the same? That I might do the same to you?”

Hana frowned as she observed the sadness in his eyes. How could someone so concerned about the mistakes he made before possibly be bad? It warmed her heart that he cared so deeply about how she felt, but she wanted him to know that she didn’t want any doubts clouding their relationship.

Without another word, she pressed her lips onto his. Although he flinched in surprise at first, it didn’t take long for him to melt into the kiss. Despite them dating for about a month, they had yet to kiss. Perhaps Hana did have some worries about Luke’s intentions for a while, but after seeing him respect her boundaries, consistently take good care of her, and even talk openly about his past regrets, those concerns disappeared. She was ready to let herself fall for him, but she was also pretty sure she already fell for him a while back. 

How could she help it when his smile was the brightest thing she had ever seen in her life, and his jokes were the highlight of her day? Maybe it was his enchanting eyes or his gorgeous laugh? Perhaps it was the way he held her hand every time they walked together or how he would sparkle every time he talked about his music? No, the reality was that Luke Sizemore had it all; he was the whole package. All this time it was probably impossible to avoid falling for the charming rapper.

As they pulled away, Hana placed her hand on his cheek.

“I trust you,” she whispered with a soft smile.

The boy stared at her in surprise, a flash of pain passing through his eyes; however, once he seemed to snap back to reality, he instantly reconnected their lips. After overcoming her own initial shock, the pink-haired girl giggled and happily returned the kiss. They wrapped their arms around each other as the kiss deepened. Hana could tell he was experienced by the way he grazed his thumb against her jawline in a way that made her tremble. She attempted to contribute by running her fingers through his hair, the soft noise he made in response signifying that she succeeded. His lips were warm and inviting as they brushed against hers; she never wanted this moment to end.

However, she eventually pulled back, a little dazed and out of breath, but a grin grew on her face when she saw her boyfriend’s equally stunned expression. He stared into the distance with wide eyes and messy hair. Hana giggled. God, he was adorable.

“S-so I hope I w-wasn’t too bad,” she sputtered, blushing madly.

Luke stared longingly at her, “You’re amazing.”

The girl giggled into a lock of her hair, trying to hide her tomato-red face.

“S-same goes to you.”

The rapper suddenly shook himself out of his trance and blinked rapidly at Hana, “I um should probably uh go now.”

She giggled at his flustered state, “Uh, we’re in _your_ room?”

“Right,” he attempted to shake his head again, “Sorry um I just meant that uh I just um...”

With a laugh, she placed another kiss on his cheek, “Here, I’ll go and give you some time to collect your thoughts.”

He nodded blankly, as if his head was still on some other planet. 

Feeling somewhat proud of having this effect on him, she inwardly squealed while grabbing her belongings once again. After waving goodbye, she left his room. If it weren’t for the sound of her rapidly beating heart, the halls would’ve been silent. Giddy and drunk with love and affection, Hana practically skipped back over to her dorm with the biggest smile she’d ever made on her face. She didn’t know how that boy managed to steal her heart so quickly, but as far as she was concerned, he was welcome to have it.

She trusted him, and that was the truth. 


	9. Realizations

**Realizations**

Fuck.

Shit. Fuck. Damn. Holy fucking fuckity fuck fuck shit.

He did it. He really did it. For the first time, it finally clicked in his head what had happened.

Luke Sizemore had fallen for Hana Mizuno, and he fell _hard_.

God fucking damn it.

This wasn’t supposed to happen. In fact, this was the exact opposite of what was supposed to happen. _She_ was supposed to be the one head over heels for _him_ , yet somehow, at some point, the tables turned. The rapper was almost positive that he had fallen for her a while back, but he had been trying to deny it since the beginning of this idiotic journey to release his first album. He knew he couldn’t catch feelings; in fact, he barely even considered the possibility. However, once his lips touched hers, and he finally got a taste of her strawberry chapstick…

He felt it. 

The sparks they always talked about in movies.

The sound of his heart pounding against his chest.

The lingering desire for more once she pulled away. 

Not to mention the dread and anxiety that captured his body once the realization dawned on him.

In the blink of an eye, she had become his world. Seeing her became the best part of his day while leaving her became the worst. Her giggles were suddenly the most intoxicating melody he had ever heard. Perhaps the most noticeable change for Luke was the rapid rhythm of his heartbeat every time she smiled at him. Within a month, she had gone from being a tool for obtaining his greatest desire to actually being his greatest desire.

Fucking damn fucking shit.

The sound of his phone ringing was all that could snap him out of his inner-panic cursing episode. In a bit of a frenzy, he checked the caller ID, his eyes widening once the name registered.

“H-hello?”

“What’s up Yungtown? I expected a call once you started Uni, but you’ve been holding out on me, I see.”

Normally, Jeff’s playful voice would fill Luke with joy, but he was a little high strung at the moment.

“Sorry man, I’ve just been… busy.”

“Oh believe me, I totally get that,” the sound of him munching on something crunchy traveled through the line, “but is everything alright? You don’t sound like yourself.”

“Yeah, everything’s…” 

Luke paused. Maybe he could… confess his troubles to Jeff? He had always relied on him back in high school, and the soccer player always seemed to know the right thing to do. If there was anyone who would be able and willing to help, it was probably Jeff.

“Actually…” the rapper sighed, building courage, “I’ve got a sort of situation.”

Another crunching sound rang through his ears before Jeff responded, “What kind of situation? You need help with something?”

With a bite of his lip, Luke began his story, “Let me explain, and you can decide if you want to help me or not.”

It was official. He laid everything out on the table, and yes, that includes _everything_. The deal with Luke’s father. The initial dates with Hana. The day they became official. The threats from Ian. The feelings that emerged.

In a way, it was liberating. Throughout this whole adventure, Luke had yet to tell a single soul about his entire plan. For the first time, his dirty little secret was revealed, and as he listened to the silence coming through the phone, all he could hope was that he had chosen the right person and the right time to confess.

“Wow…” Jeff took a deep breath, “That’s… a lot to take in, man.”

“I know,” Luke took a deep breath of his own, “sorry to unload all this on you.”

“Nah, no worries. It was definitely entertaining.”

The rapper chuckled. Leave it to Jeff to make every conversation light-hearted.

“Well, speaking as a decent human being, what you tried to do to Hana was disgusting, manipulative, and extremely fucked up.”

Luke rubbed his temples, “Yeah, I know….”

“But,” the tone of Jeff’s voice lifted slightly, “speaking as your friend…”

He cleared his throat before proceeding, “I honestly don’t see the problem.”

Luke stared forward, dumbfounded, “What do you mean?”

“Well, you’re freaking out because you have feelings for Hana, right?”

With a nod, he confirmed, “Yeah?”

“So what’s the issue? From what I can tell, it doesn’t seem like having a genuine relationship with Hana is against the deal. Your dad just said she had to be your girlfriend when you guys have dinner together. I didn’t hear anything about the relationship having to be fake or you having to break up with her afterwards, so… why don’t you just date her for real, you know? You both seem to like each other after all.”

Luke was frozen, his eyes staring blankly ahead as if galaxies were swarming through his head. He could just… date Hana? Like… without any remorse or worry over breaking up with her? Was it really that easy? 

Slowly but surely a giant grin began to spread across his face.

“Dude, you’re the best!” he exclaimed, practically jumping out of his seat.

Jeff laughed heartily, “God, has college taught you anything? You’re still as dense as a brick.”

“Yeah, yeah, and you’re _sooo_ smart,” the rapper played along, so giddy that he didn’t even mind the teasing.

“Better believe it,” the soccer player proceeded to joke, “By the way I take cash or check for my therapy services.”

“How about you fly over here sometime and I treat you to a meal instead?”

“Maybe someday,” he chuckled, “I don’t get much time on my hands these days, but how about you treat Hana to a meal instead? Seems more possible at the moment.”

Jeff had left for college in the U.S. when Luke entered his junior year of high school. The amount of times he’d returned to visit Japan had been minimal and only decreased over time as his workload got progressively larger. Luckily, he always made sure to keep in touch through some form of electronic communication.

“That’s probably a good idea,” Luke chuckled while rubbing the back of his neck, “Thanks for knocking some sense into me.”

“Anytime!”

After exchanging quick goodbyes, the rapper excitedly hung up and called his girlfriend, finally feeling free.

“Hello?”

“Hey babe, are you busy?”

\-------------------------------

“Luke, what in the world has gotten into you?”

The pink-haired girl grinned as her boyfriend squeezed her tight and showered her with kisses on her cheek. She had been trying to tell him about her classes that week, but between every other sentence she uttered, Luke would become progressively more touchy. At this point, she had been pulled onto his lap with his arms wrapped around her waist. 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he insisted with a smirk before rubbing his cheek against hers.

“Stop, you’re scratching me,” she pouted while playfully poking at his stubble.

“Then how about you kiss me instead?” he teased before puckering his lips up to her.

Hana chuckled, “Not until you tell me what’s got you all lovey dovey.”

“Can’t I just show affection to my beautiful girlfriend?” he relished in the fierce pink color overtaking her cheeks.

“O-of course you can, b-but… I was literally just with you when you were feeling down, and we k-kissed for the first time… Then you just seemed kind of caught off guard, and now all of a sudden, you’re acting like you got bitten by the love bug.”

“You must’ve put some kind of love potion on your lips,” he continued to mess with her, enjoying her adorable reactions.

“Come on, Luke,” she gently punched his chest, making him laugh.

Truthfully, after spending so long being eaten alive by guilt, he felt like a whole new person. The fact that he could just be with his girlfriend without any remorse and be honest with his feelings was so incredibly liberating. Words simply couldn’t do the feeling justice. Despite that, he couldn’t help but feel that there was no way this whole situation could be as easy as Jeff described it, but at this point, he really didn’t care. 

“I’m just… really happy to have you,” he began while caressing her cheek, “but if I’m bothering you, I can stop.”

“I didn’t say I didn’t like it,” she murmured while biting her lip.

Luke smirked before leaning in towards her, but before he could connect their lips, a rumbling sound erupted.

Hana covered her stomach and leaned her head down in embarrassment, “S-sorry.”

“You hungry?” he chuckled while pinching her cheek.

With a shy grin, she nodded and slid herself off her boyfriend’s lap.

“How about I grab some sandwiches from the deli?” Luke suggested, eager to do something for her out of his own freewill instead of guilt.

“I can get my own,” she insisted like usual as she stood.

“No no no,” the rapper insisted while gently guiding her to sit on her bed, “It’s on me and Jeff today.”

She blinked, “Jeff?”

“Long story,” Luke grinned, “but I’ll be right back. You want a tuna sandwich, right?”

Although she was still a bit skeptical, Hana grinned and nodded once more before Luke headed out the door of her dorm room. Unable to stop smiling, the boy jogged all the way to the local deli. It wasn’t too far outside the university’s campus, so it was a hot spot for students. Thus, it came as no surprise that there was a decent line at the counter when he arrived; however, the rapper’s unmatched elation could not be diminished.

That is… until he was about to exit.

After grabbing the to-go bags and heading towards the door, he almost ran into someone.

“My bad,” he chuckled while making sure none of his bags’ contents spilled. 

“Luke?”

His eyes widened at the sound of his name. The voice was familiar. Slowly, he lifted his head up and blinked at the sight of the person in front of him.

“Peebs?”

PBG didn’t look any different from when they graduated high school. He still had the brown, scruffy mop of hair on his head and was even wearing one of his favorite _Animal Intersection_ shirts alongside ripped blue jeans and black sneakers. 

The brunette’s eyes lit up as he went in for a bro hug, “It’s been a while, hasn’t it?”

Luke laughed awkwardly while returning the hug, “Yeah, it has.”

He didn’t have anything against PBG; in fact, they were great friends back in high school. However, he wasn’t sure PBG would take too well to knowing that the rapper was dating his ex-girlfriend. Luke wasn’t even sure if his friend was aware of their relationship at all.

“What are you doing here?” he asked, knowing that PBG didn’t attend the same university. 

“Oh, my uncle lives near here,” he explained with a bright smile, “he said this is one of his favorite sandwich shops, but he doesn’t like dealing with all the college students, so he asked me to go in his stead. What are you doing here?”

“I’m one of the college students,” Luke explained with a small laugh.

“No way! I didn’t know you went to the university near here! I would’ve made plans with you if I’d known that.”

Luke was secretly relieved that he didn’t. It would’ve been extremely awkward if they ran into Hana together. 

“No worries. You didn’t know,” he did his best to smile.

PBG glanced down at the bags in Luke’s hands, “Are you bringing a sandwich to someone too?”

Luke gulped. He could lie, but he honestly didn’t feel right doing that to one of his closest friends. Plus, he couldn't deny the fact that he had two sandwich bags.

“Yeah, I am.”

He could be vague though, right?

“Oh man, let me guess who! I can’t remember who all went to college with you, but maybe I can guess from the type of sandwich.”

He looked really eager to play this impromptu game; the rapper couldn’t find it in himself to deprive his friend of something so simple, but he feared that this small piece of information might be enough to give himself away. Was this situation even as bad as he was making it in his head? He just didn’t want to burn any bridges with his old friend.

“It’s a tuna sandwich,” he cleared his throat.

The soccer player’s eyes widened slightly, “Tuna?”

Luke nodded, trying not to look too nervous. PBG scanned his facial features.

“So it’s true then, huh?”

The rapper looked taken aback, “What?”

“You’re dating Hana?”

Man, today really was just a string of surprises, but Luke did his best to keep his composure. 

“You get all that from a sandwich?” he joked with a slightly lop-sided grin.

PBG gave a similar smile in return, “Well, that, and you just seemed uneasy when telling me the type.”

Damn it. Luke inwardly face-palmed.

“Hey, I’m uh really sorry-”

“Don’t be,” PBG cut off Luke’s apology, “If you’re happy, then that’s what matters.”

Despite the kindness in his words, his tone was still rather dark. It seemed he didn’t want to damage a perfectly good friendship but still harbored some sort of resentment towards his break-up. 

“Thanks, man,” Luke bit his lip, “I really apprec-”

“I’m just curious about something,” he interrupted once again.

A bit irritated and nervous, Luke nodded.

“Did she ever tell you why she broke up with me?”

This was probably the biggest shock the rapper had received today. Hana… broke up with PBG? Based on how little she liked talking about her past relationship with the Normal Boots member, he always figured that PBG was the one who ended the relationship. Needless to say, Luke’s curiosity was piqued. 

“No, she never mentioned it. Did she not give you a reason?”

The soccer player chuckled with a hint of malice, “No, she told me. I just… don’t see how you’d be any different.”

At this point, Luke was a flurry of curious, confused, worried, and at least 7 other emotions. 

“I don’t think I understand what you mean,” he confessed, eager to get some details.

PBG seemed to ponder what he wanted to say, “Why don’t you ask Hana why she broke up with me? I don’t want you to end up in the same boat as me,” he clapped Luke’s shoulder, “It was good seeing you.”

With that said, PBG walked past the rapper and waited in line, leaving the latter in a confused state. Not wanting to show that the conversation got to him, Luke walked out of the deli to head back to Hana’s dorm.

PBG’s words left a bad taste in his mouth.

_“I just… don’t see how you’d be any different.”_

_“I don’t want you to end up in the same boat as me.”_

What had happened between PBG and Hana? Was his old friend trying to psyche him out? Was he next to be dumped?

Honestly, Hana seemed like the type of person who would want to break up with someone but then be too afraid to actually pull through with it. She was always so shy and put others before herself; it was hard to imagine her truly dumping someone. Luke didn’t have a good reason to worry about Hana breaking up with him, but PBG’s words kept sticking to the back of mind. He really spoke as if Luke would inevitably be next on the chopping block.

Eventually, he knocked on his girlfriend’s door, which she opened with a big grin.

“There you are! I was starting to get worried,” her smile slowly faded as she observed his blank countenance, “What’s wrong?”

“N-nothing,” he shook his head slightly, attempting to dispel his thoughts, “here’s your sandwich.”

“Thanks,” she took the bag gingerly, her eyebrows slightly furrowed with concern. At this point, she probably thought he had some sort of mood swing problem.

Once Luke stepped inside and plopped onto the floor, he began pulling out his roast beef sandwich, but the pink-haired girl was still clearly concerned with his lack of emotion.

“Are you sure you’re OK?” she squatted down, resting her hands on her knees. 

“Why did you break up with PBG?”  
Hana froze, eyes wide and mouth slightly agape. If he could’ve taken his words back, Luke would’ve done it in a heartbeat, but his mouth moved faster than his brain at the moment.

“Wh-why do you want to know that all of a sudden?” she shook slightly, which made him want to hold her close. However, he didn’t want to come off as controlling, so he tried to give her some space.

“I ran into PBG today…” he rubbed the back of his neck nervously.

This seemed to hit the girl a little harder as she covered her mouth and fell back slightly. 

“I-is that so?” she started picking at her nail beds and biting the inside of her cheek.

Although he was curious, Luke hated seeing Hana so anxious and didn’t want to pressure her any further, “I’m sorry, babe. I shouldn’t have brought it up.”

“N-no!” she proclaimed, a little louder than she anticipated, “I… I want to be honest with you, and I don’t want to hide anything from you either.”

She gulped while changing her position to sit next to Luke, who carefully wrapped his arm around her shoulders and placed a kiss on her forehead. It meant a lot that she wanted to be open with him, so he wanted to make her as comfortable as possible. 

“The reason I never really wanted to talk about it with anyone is that… I was afraid of my reason being too selfish.”

Luke looked perplexed. She thought her reason for breaking up with PBG was selfish? That didn’t seem right.

She took a deep breath before continuing, “I broke up with PBG because I didn’t see him going anywhere.”

The rapper was still confused, “Could you elaborate on that a bit?”

“I just…” she bit her lip, “I… think I’m just a little old-fashioned because I tend to view relationships in the long-run. I don’t really want to be in a relationship that I think has no future.”

“I don’t think that’s old-fashioned,” Luke assured, “That just means you want something more serious. There’s nothing wrong with that.”

Hana smiled sweetly, “Thank you.”

He couldn’t resist placing another kiss on her forehead, “But what made you think your relationship with PBG had no future?”

“He was just… too carefree. He had no passion or drive,” she sighed, “Like he’d never try in school and just say it didn’t matter because he was gonna become a soccer star, but then he wouldn’t do anything to make that a reality. He didn’t want to go to college or try-out for any local sports teams. He kind of just acted like God would suddenly snap his fingers and make all his dreams come true. I had told him how I felt at the beginning of the summer, and he promised that he was gonna take steps towards his goals, but he never did. So at around mid-July, I told him I wanted to break up…”

Luke frowned at the tears falling from her eyes as he gently wiped them away with his thumbs, “Do you… regret your decision?”

“No,” she sniffled, “I firmly believe in what I told you, but I just hated doing that to him. PBG was never a bad guy; he never treated me wrong or anything. He was always claiming he’d change, but I just hadn’t seen any evidence of that.”

She looked up at her boyfriend with glistening eyes, “See? I told you I acted selfishly.”

A myriad of thoughts were swarming in Luke’s head, but none of his thoughts viewed Hana in a negative light. It wasn’t selfish to have priorities in a relationship; she and PBG’s priorities just conflicted. The more prominent thought on his mind was actually about what PBG said to him earlier, insinuating that Luke was no different from him. Was he trying to say that Luke had no future ahead of him? The thought made his blood boil, but he also couldn’t help but feel that the insinuation wasn’t entirely invalid.

“I don’t think you’re selfish at all. You have every right to want security in a relationship, but... do you not think the same thing about me?” the rapper asked, licking his lips nervously.

Hana seemed surprised by his question, “What do you mean?”

“I mean, I didn’t really try much in school either, and you’ve described me as carefree before. Do you not see a future for me either?”

Luke’s nerves were halted by the enchanting sound of Hana’s giggle. Before long, her giggles turned into full-on laughter. If he didn’t know her better, he might’ve been a little offended.

“Oh Luke,” she kissed his cheek, “Sure, you can act a bit carefree, but that’s different from actually _being_ carefree. You have so much passion when it comes to your music. You’re even in college right now to improve your skills. You’re actually taking steps to pursue your dreams.”

She looked at him directly in his eyes while giving a loving smile, making his heart thump loudly against his chest, “You’re perfect, Luke.”

Butterflies filled his insides as she connected their lips. The storm of thoughts in his head morphed into serenity. Hana was the only one who could give him such solace. Not only did she always know the right thing to say, but she always said it with such sincerity, all her words coming from the bottom of her heart. As he pulled her closer to his chest and felt her hum into his lips, he knew one thing for sure.

He loved Hana Mizuno.

He loved her, and that was finally a fact he could accept.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi friends! Sorry I disappeared off the face of the Earth! 
> 
> So school started back up about a month ago, and it's been killing me horribly. However, I really missed writing, so I did my best to finish this update. I made 3 chapters in an attempt to make-up for being gone so long, so please forgive me <3
> 
> Anyhow, I'm certainly still drowning in schoolwork, but hopefully I can get my act together within the next month and start writing more frequently. I'm not gonna make any promises though ;~; 
> 
> Regardless, I hope your lives have been better! Take care of yourselves, OK? ^^


	10. Better Together

**Chapter 10: Better Together**

The semester flew by faster than any of the students could keep up. Within the next few weeks, final projects were going to be due, and final exams would be upon them.

At the moment, Hana was furiously typing code for the game she had to make as her final project. Luckily, the supposed “game” didn’t have to be anywhere near good quality. She was a freshman after all. They didn’t expect her to be making  _ Searim _ right off the bat, especially not on her own. Even so, the pink-haired girl wanted to do her best to at least make something more than a basic hangman or tic-tac-toe simulator. 

With a sigh, she rested her head on her hand and glanced to the side, making eye contact with the boy sitting next to her. Perhaps if she were alone, she would’ve had a headache from stress by now, but thanks to her boyfriend, she felt at ease. He was equally hard at work on a song for the university’s big showcase, so she hoped that she had the same effect on him.

“How’s it coming?” 

“Honestly can’t seem to make much progress,” the boy shrugged before giving her a smirk, “Mind if I stare at your beautiful face? I’m sure that’ll help give me some inspiration.”

Hana could feel her cheeks turning red, “D-don’t be s-silly. That won’t do anything.”

“Bet.”

She grimaced at his cocky grin; he enjoyed teasing her way too much.

“I suppose if you insist it’ll help,” she grumbled, turning back towards her computer.

Although she was staring at the screen, her fingers couldn’t seem to move. Hana could practically feel Luke’s gaze on the side of her face. Was he really just going to sit there and stare at her?

After a couple seconds, she glanced back over towards him. He welcomed her with a wink, which made her heart flutter. Despite dating for basically the whole semester, Luke never failed to charm her. He always made her insides feel all warm and tingly. She wondered if he ever considered her charming even though she wasn’t much of a flirt.

“You’re being ridiculous,” she joked while tossing one of his paper ball wads at his face.

He chuckled while dodging the attack, “You’re right. I’ve been doing this all wrong.”

Without hesitation, the rapper pulled her chin towards him until they were mere centimeters apart, “This is much better.”

“S-stop,” Hana squeaked, while pulling her face back.

Luke burst into laughter, “I can’t help it. You’re just so adorable.”

He kissed her cheek before proceeding to kiss her lips. The girl melted into his soft, warm touch.

Needless to say, the couple still felt as giddy and in love as when their relationship was first established but also developed a strong trust between one another. They were always there for each other and managed to keep each other calm and collected throughout their hectic semester. Above all, they were simply happy together. 

As she pulled away, the pink-haired girl giggled, “You’re really distracting, you know that?”

Her boyfriend laughed some more; it was one of her favorite sounds.

“You’re one to talk. Stop being gorgeous, so I can focus.”

“S-stop flirting, so  _ I  _ can focus,” she leaned her head down to hide her flustered face, which Luke has probably seen a million times at this point.

“But this is so much more fun,” he whined while wrapping his arms around her torso and placing his head on her shoulder.

With a sigh, Hana shook her head. They weren’t making very good progress, and they really didn’t have the time to keep goofing around. 

“OK,” she removed the rapper’s embrace, “how about you tell me what’s got you stuck on your song? Maybe talking about it will help things flow better.”

Luke readjusted his cap as he grabbed his notebook full of lyrics, “Well, I’ve actually got most of the lyrics written, but I just can’t get the main hook right. That’s the part of the song people will remember most, so I want it to be perfect.”

“Have you recorded anything yet?” Hana asked, curious to see what he had come up with.

He nodded, “Yeah, I’ve got the actual music done plus the raps for the verses, so just the chorus is without vocals for now. Here, I’ll show it to you.”

With a couple clicks of his keyboard, Luke’s newest song played back. The melody had an intriguingly up-beat, retro rock-and-roll vibe complete with guitar riffs and keyboard strokes, yet it still had the right amount of bass for a rap track. Hana was always impressed with Luke’s versatility and ability to experiment with his songs, but this was perhaps his biggest deviation from his usual style so far. 

That being said, it was amazing. Despite the change in music style, the flow of his rap was addictive and coherent. His lyrics were about being betrayed by someone and feeling a deep hatred for them, and although his words were scathing and harsh, the tempo and melody were fun and full of energy. Hana could already picture this being played on the radio, ranked as one of the best break-up tracks of the year. 

However, just as he said, the chorus felt hollow with only the music playing in the background. Sadly, she didn’t know how to help him think of some sort of catchy hook, but she certainly tried hard to think about it.

Once the song concluded, Luke turned to his girlfriend with an eager expression.

“So what do you think?”

“It’s amazing!” she exclaimed, “it’s totally different from your usual stuff, but you still managed to make it all seem so effortless, and the lyrics are really clever too!”

Now blushing madly with a giant smile on his face, the boy rubbed the back of his neck, “Aw, that’s really sweet of you, babe.”

“That’s just how I feel,” she kissed his cheek, “You’re super talented… I just wish I could help your dilemma.”

He chuckled, “Who knows? Maybe you can.”

He handed her the notebook in his hands, already opened to the page with the lyrics of the song she just heard. She glanced down at the myriad of words, overwhelmed by the passion that could be seen simply from the absurd amount of eraser marks and various underlined or cross-out words.

“B-but I don’t know anything about writing songs…” she attempted to protest.

“Just try to suggest something, anything! It’ll help to have some new eyes on it with fresh ideas,” he grinned while gently rubbing her head, “Keep in mind that the theme of the showcase this year is ‘Power,’ which is why I wrote more of a hateful song.” 

Hana nodded, attempting to curb her anxiety with determination. It worked to an extent as she allowed herself to analyze the written words, yet she still wasn’t sure where to begin as far as “suggesting” something. Eventually, she came up with an idea, but she didn’t feel confident in it.

“What if you made the chorus a response to your hatred?”

Luke raised his brows, seemingly intrigued, “What do you mean?”

“Well…” she cleared her throat, “It seems like all your lyrics talk about despising this person, but you don’t seem to address what you plan to do about it. Like maybe the hook can focus on preparing to get revenge?”

He blinked at her as she smiled awkwardly in his direction, but much to her relief, a grin began growing on his face.

“I like that…” he said, almost as if he were talking to himself, “I like that a lot actually.”

With newfound inspiration, he whirled back over to his computer and cropped the audio file to only include the chorus. From there, he played the chorus back again, gently bobbing his head to the beat. He seemed lost in thought, so Hana figured she’d better get back to working on her own project. However, before she could even lay a finger on her computer, Luke grabbed her wrist and pulled her towards him. Within a second, she had been pulled onto his lap, enclosed by his strong arms.

“Hana, you gotta help me with the lyrics.”

The pink-haired girl’s mouth was slightly agape, “Wh-what? I told you; I don’t know anything about writing songs.”

“Just give it a shot,” he encouraged while snuggled into her shoulder, “I want to see what you come up with.”

Before she could comprehend what was happening, he played back the chorus instrumental.

“OK, go!” he exclaimed, looking at her expectantly.

An inner panic seized the girl. He just expected her to rap genius lyrics all of a sudden?!

Instinct overtook her as she tried to formulate something to say. Her brain attempted to concoct something related to revenge like she had suggested, and she managed to spit out whatever came to mind.

_ “It’s pointless to go on like this; I’ll end it all right here. _

_ The cruel devil is… la la la la...” _

After her voice trailed off, Hana slapped her palm to her forehead. Not only did she lose inspiration and just resort to humming with the tune, but she accidentally sang instead of rapped.

“Ugh, sorry, I panicked and totally forgot I was supposed to be rapping,” she giggled, “but it’s probably best that you’re spared of the tragedy that would’ve been.”

Much to her surprise, Luke had the largest, most excited grin upon his face. 

“Hana… that was… perfect,” his eyes twinkled.

“Come on, quit joking around,” she playfully punched his shoulder, still embarrassed. 

“No, I’m serious,” he held her cheeks with his hands, still bursting with excitement and wonder, “I mean, we’ll want to actually make polished lyrics, but I like the direction you went with it. Can you formally record that for me?”

“Wh-what?!” she could hardly believe what she was hearing.

“It’s exactly what I’ve been needing, babe! A singing chorus! Lots of professional rappers will have guest singers do the vocals for the chorus. It’s catchier and easier for audiences to follow,” he explained without losing an ounce of enthusiasm.

Hana felt like the room was spinning. That means… he not only wanted to use her lyrics; he wanted to use her voice too?!

As if he could somehow read her mind, he spoke again, “Don’t worry; you wouldn’t have to perform at the showcase. I would just play your part through the music itself, just like musicians do when they perform these sorts of songs at their concerts.”

Just the idea of a whole crowd hearing her voice filled her with fear, but as she looked into her boyfriend’s hopeful eyes, she knew she couldn’t say no. His passion alone was infectious and managed to ease her nerves.

“O-OK,” she practically whispered.

Suddenly, Luke picked her up and spun her around. Hana giggled as he attempted to kiss every inch of her face.

“You’re the best!” he exclaimed, “I’ll have to see if I can help you with your game somehow!”

The pink-haired girl grinned while stroking his cheek with her thumb. As she gazed at him, more inspiration began to sink into her. Just the way he made her feel was giving her an idea, but she didn’t want to give it away quite yet, just in case she didn’t end up following through with it.

“I think you’ve actually helped already,” she said with a wink.


	11. Her

**Chapter 11: Her**

Luke walked up to the entrance of his dorm room with increased confidence and ease in his step. He had just finished his last class session of the semester and scheduled to play some online games with the old Hidden Block crew as soon as he got back. Needless to say, he was thriving. 

However, as soon as he entered his room, he was met with an unexpected sight.

“Shane? What’s going on?” he asked, taking in the environment.

His roommate’s half of the room was almost entirely barren with only a few cardboard boxes strewn along the floor. The Brit seemed to be clearing out his remaining belongings from his university-provided desk. 

“What does it look like?” he answered nonchalantly, “I’m packing. My classes are finished, and I turned in my final project early.”

“OK…” Luke eyed him suspiciously, “but school’s gonna start back in like a month. Most people just leave their stuff here, you know?”

Shane stood still for a moment before clearing his throat, “I actually won’t be back next semester.”

The rapper stepped back slightly as if he had just received a blow to the shoulder.

“What? Why not?”

Still refusing to face Luke, he spoke again, “I decided to continue my education back in England. It’s closer to family, and the illustration program is better there anyway.”

“I see…” 

Luke attempted to not show much emotion in his voice, but he couldn’t deny that he had grown quite fond of his new roommate, even though they were very different people. It was difficult to imagine college life without him, but if this route was what Shane wanted, then Luke wanted to support him.

However, something was suspicious…

“Wait,” the rapper interjected while taking a seat on his bed, “If the university you’re going to is closer to family and has a better illustration program, why didn’t you just go there in the first place?”

The Brit flinched for a half-second before continuing to organize his paintbrushes, “I just… wanted a change of scenery.”

Luke wasn’t buying it, “Change of scenery? We’ve been going to school in Japan together for at least 4 years.”

“What does it matter?” he grunted, while grabbing his clipboard.

Before he could place it into another moving box, Luke grabbed it, “Why don’t you want to tell me the real reason?”

“It’s none of your business,” Shane pulled back on the clipboard, but the rapper wouldn’t budge.

Both boys pulled on the object. Luke wasn’t about to give in to Shane’s silence when he was obviously lying. Did Luke do something wrong as a roommate? If so, why couldn’t they just talk it out instead of Shane just giving the silent treatment?

Eventually the clipboard slipped out of their hands, falling to the ground with a clack. The compartment inside the object sprung open, slinging its contents across the floor. 

Luke’s eyes widened as he took in the strewn pieces of artwork. One piece showed the portrait of a young girl with blue eyes, smiling gently while playing with a lock of her pink hair. Another showed the same girl, her pink hair bathed in the light of a sunset as she laughed and held out her hand towards the viewer. Another piece showed the girl gazing dreamily outside the window of a ferris wheel cart, wearing the same outfit Hana wore during the festival at the beginning of the semester. 

The two boys locked eyes but neither spoke. 

It was her. 

Hana was the reason Shane had decided to attend this university.

After a few moments of agonizing silence, Luke gained the courage to speak, “I-I’m sorry, man.”

His roommate looked at him with sad eyes, “Sorry for what?”

A bit taken aback by the question, Luke took the time to think. 

Was he sorry for dating Hana?

Honestly, he wasn’t. Perhaps if he had known of Shane’s infatuation with her months ago, he might’ve explained that he didn’t really want to date Hana. That she was just a means to an end. That Shane could have her once he was done.

Not only would the Brit have probably chewed him out, but the old Luke wouldn’t have been able to predict the way he’d feel in the future. 

Hana was so much more to him now, and he wouldn’t trade her for the world.

So… what was he sorry for?

“I’m sorry for invading your privacy,” Luke spoke softly, feeling a pain in his chest as Shane’s eyes flickered from him to the drawn pictures of his girlfriend.

“It’s OK,” the Brit muttered while bending down to start picking up the pieces of paper.

Luke attempted to help by grabbing the pictures that had flown particularly far from the clipboard. 

He gingerly handed the pieces back to the artist, “You know, I think Hana would really like to see these.”

Shane chuckled bitterly, “I’d rather she didn’t.”

Luke took a deep breath as he stepped back over to his side of the room. He really didn’t know what to say to alleviate the situation. He wasn’t even sure if the atmosphere was salvageable. 

However, Shane broke his swarming thoughts, “Look, Luke. I don’t want you to think that I hold anything against you.”

The rapper looked up at him, but the Brit’s eyes remained locked onto his clipboard.

“I may have been jealous,” he continued, “but I’m happy for you both ultimately. I consider you both good friends, and I don’t want anything to change that.”

Luke gulped nervously, but at the same time, he felt a weight being lifted from his shoulders, “Thanks. I appreciate that.”

A small smile appeared on Shane’s face as he finally placed the clipboard into a box and sealed it. The sound of a horn honking erupted from outside.

“My taxi’s here,” he said with a sigh.

“Want some help carrying the boxes?” Luke offered with a small smile.

Shane finally reconnected eyes with the rapper and gave a gentle grin of his own.

“Only if you don’t mind.”


	12. Mr. Sizemore

**Chapter 12: Mr. Sizemore**

Hana held her breath as the limousine slowed to a halt in front of a large, black mansion. Without missing a beat, the chauffeur silently moved to open the car door and gestured for her to exit the vehicle. She quietly thanked the man before placing her white high heel onto the ground. 

The mansion was truly breathtaking. There was a majestic fountain on the front lawn that cascaded into a small stream that circled the building. On the other side of the yard was a myriad of topiaries, flowers, trees, and other pieces of flora. The collection was clearly well-kept and maintained on a regular basis. A large black gate connected to gray stone walls guarded the expensive property, keeping out nosy peasants.

Peasants like Hana.

The girl’s knees felt weak as the authoritative aura of the manor loomed over her small form. The situation finally dawned on her.

She was going to meet her boyfriend’s father: a famous, best-selling music producer. 

As if on cue, Luke linked his arm with hers and gave a gentle smile before placing a kiss upon her forehead. With a deep breath, she leaned into his shoulder, absorbing the comfort of his presence.

“Don’t be nervous,” he assured, “He’s going to love you.”

Hana attempted to smile, but it came off as just showing her teeth. It was hard enough to not be anxious when meeting her boyfriend’s father, but the fact that he could probably buy everything her family possessed without even putting a dent in his fortune was enough to terrify her. 

It didn’t help that Luke kept trying to give her pointers all day, as if she was preparing for an interview.

“He can be kind of cold, but don’t let that get to you.”

“He’s really formal, so you’ll probably want to be extra polite.”

“Don’t take silence as a bad thing. He prefers things to be quiet.”

“Try not to comment on things being fancy or expensive. He’s had a history with gold diggers.”

The pink-haired girl intertwined her fingers with Luke’s as they walked up to the gate. The latter entered a code, which gained the couple entrance to their destination. Hana couldn’t help but gape at how easy that was; this truly was just everyday life for him.

As they carefully trekked across the stone walkway to the front door, she felt puny amongst the ostentatious displays of wealth. It didn’t help that the mansion was located hours away from campus, making Hana feel like a lost duckling who had to cling to her mother. 

Oh how she wished she could’ve just stayed at her dorm and studied for her final exams.

However, she also knew that she had to keep her head held up as high as possible. If she wanted a serious relationship with Luke, she was gonna have to meet his father sooner or later.

Even before the rapper could knock, the door automatically opened to reveal a lengthy hallway with black marbled floors and white walls adorned with black curtains. Crystal chandeliers glistened from the tall ceiling, and portraits of records were hung in an orderly fashion along the walls. Luke led Hana at a brisk, confident pace, and she did her best to maintain a calm, collected aura.

Eventually, they reached an area that appeared to be the dining room, a large table already set with silverware for three despite the fact that it could probably hold twelve. 

Luke strode over to the set-up and graciously pulled out a chair for Hana, who shook slightly as she accepted the offer. Before the boy could even take his own seat, a tall, commanding presence entered the room. 

Although his face was old and expression hardened, the man’s blue eyes and broad shoulders were very reminiscent of Hana’s boyfriend. 

She stood and bowed to the man as he approached the unclaimed set of silverware.

“Good evening, Mr. Sizemore,” she instinctively grabbed at the hem of her formal white dress that Luke had purchased for her. 

The man eyed her up and down, his cold, calculating demeanor never faltering.

“It’s a pleasure, Ms. Mizuno,” he responded while holding out his hand.

She shook the outstretched appendage, praying that her palms weren’t too sweaty. Meanwhile, Luke nonchalantly kept his hands in his pockets, grimacing at his father.

Slowly, Mr. Sizemore signaled for a butler to bring in the first course, which consisted of a mixed greens salad dressed in a raspberry vinaigrette. 

Per her boyfriend’s instructions, Hana did not attempt to start a conversation, which seemed to be the correct thing to do as both Luke and his father simply ate their salads in silence. However, the atmosphere still seemed tense.

Nonetheless, the man eventually spoke up, “Ms. Mizuno.”

“Y-yes?” she almost spat out her drink at the sudden sound of her name.

“May I ask how you ended up dating my son?”

Hana thought for a moment, “Well, I suppose we just got to know each other more as we entered college and started spending more time together. I guess the attraction came from that.”

“What do you like about him?”

Gosh, this really did seem like an interview.

“What’s not to like? He’s talented, smart, hard-working, and reliable: the ideal person, someone I aspire to be like.”

She grinned at Luke, who had a harsh pink on his cheeks. He carefully laced his fingers with hers under the table while returning a charming smile of his own. Truthfully, Hana had so many more things she liked about Luke, but she figured that this wasn’t the time to be gushing over her boyfriend. Plus, she did her best to pick qualities she felt his father would personally value.

Despite her kind words, the man simply nodded, “I see.”

At this point, it was a little difficult to not feel disheartened, but the feeling of her hand being lovingly squeezed by her boyfriend managed to calm her nerves.

Before long, the next course was served: wagyu beef alongside scalloped potatoes atop a bed of asparagus spears. Hana had to admit that this food was amazing and certainly something she’d never be able to experience elsewhere. It was crazy to think that this could just be somebody’s norm, let alone her own boyfriend’s norm.

This portion of the meal was eaten in silence, only interrupted by the occasional clearing of the throat from Mr. Sizemore, which would make Hana stiffen in anticipation of being asked a question. Luke would rub the top of her thigh gently whenever he noticed her discomfort, which helped slightly, but the complete lack of interaction between the people at the table made her feel like puking. Did he really live his whole life like this?

After what felt like a century, the final course was delivered to the table. It was a mascarpone cheesecake topped with blueberries dressed with raspberry drizzle. Hana’s mouth watered just looking at it. With a single bite, her entire visage lit up. She did her best not to make a noise, but nothing could mask the pure elation written in her expression. Luke chuckled at her. She responded with a grimace and a small nudge with her ankle, causing him to just laugh more.

“What’s so funny?” 

The young couple stiffened in a snap upon hearing the man’s sharp tone.

“Nothing,” Luke assured before clearing his throat and taking another bite of cake. 

Hana followed his lead and just silently ate another bite. The man eyeballed the two young adults before speaking again.

“I see, well, Ms. Mizuno…” he turned to face the pink-haired girl, which struck fear into her chest, “did Luke ever tell you the good news?”

She blinked in surprise, “Good news?”

With the turn of her head, she glanced at her boyfriend, but he seemed equally confused.

“Yes,” the man gave a gentle smile, which made his demeanor a million times more approachable, “the news being that he will be releasing his first album soon.”

Luke’s eyes seemed to pop out of his head as his fork clattered onto his plate. Before long, his expression lit up like fireworks, “A-are you serious?!”

Mr. Sizemore smiled a bit more and nodded, “Yes, congratulations, son.”

Luke stood up and began pacing while running his hands through his hair. It was clear he was doing his best to contain his elation. He had the biggest smile on his face; his emotions were truly contagious as Hana desperately wanted to jump up and down in excitement for him. She knew how much music meant to him and couldn’t wait to see what his official debut would be like.

Eventually, he was able to sit back down, “Thank you so much, father! I won’t let you down!” 

The man nodded, and Hana turned to grab her boyfriend’s hands.

“I know you’ll do an amazing job, Luke! I’m so excited for you!”

He blushed and grinned widely, “Thank you, Hana.” 

With that said, Mr. Sizemore stood, “Well, I suppose we should wrap things up so I can get back to work.”

He turned towards Hana and outstretched his hand, which she gleefully shook. Not only was she relieved that this awkward dinner experience was coming to a close, but she was also still over the moon from the news. 

“It was a pleasure to meet you, sir,” she said with a bow and dazzling smile.

“The pleasure is all mine,” he stated before releasing her hand, “I appreciate all you’ve done for my son, but I’m afraid we won’t be needing your services anymore.”

The room became dead silent. The girl furrowed her brows and glanced over at Luke, who suddenly seemed paralyzed.

“Services?” she asked, “I’m sorry, but I don’t think I understand.”

“Oh, I apologize Ms. Mizuno; it seems my son forgot to mention an important detail regarding your relationship.”

“Father, what are you-”

The man held up his palm towards his son, causing him to almost instinctively stop talking. Hana had a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach.

“You see, Luke and I made a deal whenever he began college. If he could bring you as his girlfriend to a dinner with me, then he could release his first album. As you can see…” he gestured towards the young girl, “you are here. The deal has been fulfilled, and you can both end this charade now.”

“Father, stop!” Luke’s voice was loud and commanding. His eyes even seemed red.

“It’s better to do this sooner rather than later, son,” the man assured without an ounce of emotion, “I apologize for any trouble you’ve gone through Ms. Mizuno, and I’d be more than happy to compensate you for any miscellaneous date expenses you had to go through.”

Everything around Hana seemed to shake and blur. She was suddenly very dizzy. All of this… was fake? All the dates they went on… all the laughs they shared… the nights spent together… it was all an act?

The rapper turned to look at the frozen girl, “Hana, it’s not what you think.”

Just hearing those words lit a fire within her.

“Not what I think?!” her voice echoed throughout the empty, soulless mansion. She had never allowed her voice to rise to this level before. It was… liberating… intoxicating even. It made the fire inside her even stronger and more rampant. “Tell me what he’s saying isn’t true! Tell me that you didn’t start dating me just to fulfill a stupid deal to get your first album!”

Luke was at a loss for words. Her heart shattered as she realized that he couldn’t deny the claim... because it was true. It was all true. None of what they shared was real. She was just a pawn in this stupid game. That’s all she ever was to either of these men. 

The worst part... was that she fell for it hook line and sinker. She was just as dumb as they anticipated her to be, and for that, she’d never forgive herself, nor would she forgive them.

Eventually, the rapper found his words, “What he’s saying is true, but that was just how it started-”

She didn’t want to hear it. No, she couldn’t hear it. She couldn’t survive her heart breaking any further. Her anger had crashed into a wave of frustration and sorrow, and she didn’t dare give these fuckers the satisfaction of seeing her cry.

She ran. As fast as her legs could take her. She ripped off her heels as she sped down the hallway. 

“Hana, wait!”

She could hear Luke calling after her but only ran faster. Hot tears streamed down her face, and she couldn’t help but release a small sob. A butler held open the front door for her, allowing her to continue running without losing momentum. Even the gates at the front of manor automatically opened up for her. They truly were ready for this to happen. She was meaningless to them. Expendable. Her emotions were just entertainment for the evening.

Sheets of rain welcomed her as she continued sprinting from the estate. She didn’t care where she ended up. All she wanted was to be as far away from that emotionless, psychotic family as possible. 

She ran and ran, so fast that she wasn’t able to sob without losing her breath. By the time she sought shelter in a small, downtown area, her legs felt like they were going to fall off. Thanks to the rain and time of day, the area was like a ghost town. She grabbed onto a column on one of the town buildings and fell to her knees. She’d sob in between heavy breaths, her situation finally sinking into her skull.

She was hours away from her university and had no idea how she was going to get back, but she decided that she’d rather die than have to ask the Sizemores for help. For now, all her body could do was sit on the ground and weep. With not a single soul in the vicinity, she allowed herself to sob loudly, letting all her tears flow freely as the remaining drops of rain in her hair cascaded down her face and arms. Her entire form trembled with anger, sadness, and frustration. She wondered what she did to deserve this. She wondered why she was so stupid. She wondered how she was going to get out of this mess.

Suddenly, a shadow appeared over her collapsed figure, putting an immediate halt to her crying. 

She thought she was alone.

With the slow turn of her head, she took in the figure looming over her.

Her eyes widened as a gasp escaped her lips.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't believe I last updated this story in September *insert clown emoji*
> 
> Anyways, I really missed writing, so I decided to pick this story back up. I realize ending the chapter like this probably isn't the best way to make up for a long ass hiatus, but... idk I'm just used to 3 chapter updates I guess. I'm sorry. Plz forgive.
> 
> Regardless, I hope you're all staying safe and sane. The world's a mess right now, huh? I hope this provided at least a few minutes of entertainment for you, and I wish you all as much happiness as you can muster. <3


	13. Regret

**Chapter 13: Regret**

“Hana, wait!”

His voice fell on deaf ears as he watched the girl run out of the dining room without even the slightest falter in her step. Luke began to run after her, but his father’s booming voice halted his movements.

“Don’t take another step, Luke.”

He did as instructed, his years spent obeying his father being second nature to him. However, that didn’t stop the anger seething through his veins causing his body to tremble, ready to erupt.

“Surely, you had to know this was inevitable, son.”

“What the hell is wrong with you?!” the rapper shouted, his father’s countenance unbothered by his outburst, “How could you do that to her?! How could you do this to me?!”

The man raised an eyebrow, “You didn’t actually consider maintaining a relationship with her, correct? You’re going to be preparing to become a celebrity. Having a girlfriend will decrease your chances of success significantly. Fans will only want to follow you in hopes of dating you.”

“I want fans who care about my music, not about delusional fantasies,” Luke spoke through clenched teeth, “and regardless, that doesn’t give you the right to hurt Hana like that.”

Mr. Sizemore sighed as he pinched the bridge of his nose, “You don’t have a right to be picky in your position. Also, I was simply ripping off the bandage. I’m sure she will come to appreciate that the news was broken to her in a way that was as quick and painless as possible.”

Every fibre of Luke’s being wanted to sock his father in the face or break every glass on the table, but he knew that wouldn’t solve anything. It wasn’t like this behavior should’ve surprised him either. As always, his dad had no regard for other people’s feelings. All he cared about was fame and fortune. He knew nothing of happiness or love, and yet Luke was letting him take control of his life.

“Now, just forget about her. We have a lot of preparation to do.”

Without a response, the rapper began running towards the door.

“Luke Sizemore!” his father yelled, “If you take one step out that door, the deal is off, and your album is cancelled!”

His body stopped, but his intentions didn’t sway in the slightest. 

“I’ve decided…” he turned to look his father in the eyes one last time, “I’d rather be the world’s biggest failure than have an album produced by you.”

He continued his sprint out of the mansion, not even giving his dad a chance to retaliate. As he made it outside, his heart crumbled. Not only was his girlfriend nowhere in sight, but it was also dark and pouring rain. Anything could’ve happened to her. 

Despite having no general direction, he proceeded with his search. He looked everywhere he could think of in the hopes of just seeing a quick glimpse of her pink hair or white chiffon dress. It pained him to think that she was probably freezing and alone, or worse… 

He shook his head, determined to keep looking. Every minute that passed filled him with desparation. Where was she? Was she hurt? Was she safe? How was she going to return home?

Just then, a thought suddenly occurred to him. He felt around his pocket for his phone. He could call her! In the blink of an eye, he ducked under an awning and had his phone put up to his ear, listening to the dial tone ring back at him. However, his heart plummeted when he heard her ringtone sounding from his other pocket. He had totally forgotten that Hana asked him to hold her phone. 

Luke’s guilt began to mount. Hana was alone, heartbroken, in the middle of the rain, in an unfamiliar city, without her phone. She could be dead for all he knew, and it was all his fault. He never should’ve accepted that stupid deal, or he should’ve at least confessed to her sooner and in a more appropriate way. 

The rapper pounded his fist against the nearest shop window in frustration. Lucky for him, it was closed and no one was around to watch his outburst. As he lifted his head up, he noticed the shop display. It was a merchandise store for Osaka University.

Luke immediately picked his phone up again to dial a different number. The person he was calling this time would likely want to throw him off the nearest cliff for what happened, but Luke knew he would probably know what to do. 

His heart raced at the sound of the voice on the other line, “Hello?”

“Ian! Dude, I’m in Osaka, and I actually think I’m close to your university. Can you send me your address? It’s an emergency!”

\--------------------------------------------------------

Luke heaved a sigh of relief as his old roommate reluctantly opened his door for him. 

“H-hey, man,” the rapper awkwardly smiled while wringing out his shirt.

“Hey.”

Despite not seeing each other for almost a year now and their last conversation being rather heated, Ian didn’t seem at all bothered by Luke’s presence as he gestured for Luke to enter. The rapper was more than happy to take the offer. 

He took in the new scenery and almost had the desire to chuckle at the minimalist set-up of Ian’s apartment, only decorated with a couple pieces of video game memorabilia. It was very much Ian’s style. His heart swelled slightly at the sight of Ian’s old Hidden Block jacket hanging on the wall. 

“So what’s this emergency you wanted to talk about?” the moose nonchalantly asked as he plopped onto his living room sofa and picked up his cup of tea from the coffee table. 

“Hana’s missing!” he exclaimed, getting straight to the point.

Much to the rapper’s surprise, Ian was unphased by the outburst and took a couple seconds to finish sipping his drink.

“Care to elaborate?’

“D-do you just not care?” Luke was absolutely flabbergasted at Ian’s attitude towards the situation.

The moose rolled his eyes, “Of course I care, but you haven’t given me any useful information. Why were you two here anyway? Isn’t your university far away from here?”

“Did I ever mention that my dad has a mansion in Osaka?”

Ian shook his head, “No, but anyways, so you were here to see your dad?”

Luke nodded, “Yeah, one of those ‘girlfriend meets the parents’ situations.”

“I see,” Ian bobbed his teabag in and out of his mug, “So at what point did you manage to lose Hana?”

“Well…” the rapper bit his lip, “I kind of have a confession to make.”

Ian didn’t respond but instead just stared at his old roommate expectantly.

“You see…” he sighed, “My dad didn’t think I was responsible enough to handle releasing my first album, so he proposed a deal with me at the beginning of the semester. If I could make Hana my girlfriend and bring her over to a dinner with him, then I’d prove that I was responsible enough to take care of a partner and, in turn, could handle taking on my first debut. So… I agreed.”

Luke’s body tensed as he clenched his teeth and squeezed his eyes shut, embracing for impact. He didn’t know if Ian was the type to yell or throw firsts first, but he was prepared for either one. However, after a few moments of waiting, neither option came to fruition. Luke carefully opened his eyes to observe Ian simply leaning back on his sofa, staring at the clock ticking on the opposite wall.

“OK, so then what?” he asked, devoid of any reaction.

Who was this guy? The Ian he knew would be ready to fight anyone who even looked at Hana the wrong way, let alone abuse her trust. Did they have an argument or something?

“S-so then…” he truly didn’t anticipate being able to get this far into his story without a black eye, “I did whatever I could to get Hana to like me. I took her out to fun places, bought her things, and tried to spend as much time with her as possible. Soon enough, she agreed to make it official, and we started dating. I was originally just dating her for my own selfish gain, but then…”

He sighed while rubbing the back of his neck, “I started having actual feelings for her. I thought that maybe this didn’t have to be for the sake of a bet; maybe she and I could actually date for real. So I just kept doing what I was doing anyway, and I fell for her more and more. Finally, today was the day where she’d finally meet my father, the deal would be settled, I’d get the album AND the girl. Problem solved, but then…”

A small burst of anger surged through his body as he thought of his father, “My douchebag father basically told her that she was just a tool for me to get my album and that she wasn’t needed anymore. So she ran away, and now I have no idea where she is, and I just wish I could find her and apologize.”

He turned to face Ian, whose countenance still hadn’t faltered. It was starting to get creepy and irritating.

“Is that a good enough explanation for you?” Luke sneered, peeved at what seemed to be his friend’s lack of concern for Hana’s well-being.

The moose shrugged as he returned his mug to his coffee table, “I don’t know…”

He leaned back once more and folded his arms and legs before looking towards a doorway, “What do you think of that explanation, Hana?”

Luke’s heart stopped as he carefully turned his head towards the direction Ian was facing. Slowly but surely the pink-haired girl stepped out into view. She was wearing an old shirt that Luke recognized to be Ian’s from back in high school. Her hair was wet, but the rest of her looked dry; it seemed she had taken a shower already. She pointed her face towards the floor, only glancing at Luke for a mere half-second before returning her gaze to the ground. Her right hand clung to her left arm nervously.

The rapper was so elated to see her; it was unreal.

“Hana!” he exclaimed with a bright smile, excitedly approaching her.

However, he halted his steps as he noticed her immediate discomfort. Upon closer inspection, he could see her puffy, red eyes and swollen cheeks. She looked like she was shivering from a fear that plagued her for days.

His heart ached, “I’m… really glad you’re OK.”

It pained him to see her cower like he was some sort of beast, but he couldn’t really blame her. Plus, he didn’t want to make her anymore upset than she already was by approaching her further. 

He waited a bit for her to say something, but the fact that she couldn’t even seem to look him in the eyes made it evident that she had no intention of speaking.

“Hana, I’m so sorry… What I did was wrong on so many different levels. I took you for granted... but I truly did fall in love with you as I got to know you. I shouldn’t have agreed to something so manipulative, especially to someone as sweet as you, and I’ll forever be sorry for that.”

She took another second to glance at him, which he took as a good sign, but she still didn’t seem motivated to talk.

“Do you think you could… forgive me?” he remained hopeful, “All I could ever want is to put my stupid mistakes behind us and go back to the way things were.”

He held out his hand towards her, “What do you say?”

She returned her gaze to him, but this time, there was a mixture of anger and disbelief in her eyes, “Go back to the way things were?”

She pushed his hand away, “How could you think things would ever be the same between us?”

Luke was taken aback, “B-but babe, I promise the feelings I have for you are genuine.”

“Oh yeah?” her torso tensed up, “Since when?”

The rapper blinked rapidly for a second, “What do you mean?”

“Since when were the feelings genuine? At what point did it go from fake love to real love?”

Luke opened his mouth to speak but nothing came out. He rubbed the back of his neck as he attempted to formulate his thoughts, “I-I’m not sure exactly, but-”

“That was a trick question,” she clenched her fists as her arms held her chest, “Past Hana’s feelings were  _ always _ genuine, but past Luke’s…”

She brushed a tear from her eye and sniffled, “The very foundation of past Luke’s feelings were fake. Even up to the end, he was using me to get what he wanted, whether he chose to believe that or not.”

“But Hana, I… the album thing was just a bonus in my eyes. Even if it took some time for me to realize it, you were what was most important to me. I even sacrificed my album tonight just to come find you.”

“Oh, I’m sorry, am I supposed to feel guilty about that?” tears began streaming down her cheeks.

“What? No, I just want to show you that I value you more than that and that I don’t want to throw away what we have just for-”

“What do we have, Luke?!” her breaths were heavy and eyes red, “Don’t you see that everything we’ve ever had is tainted for me? You can’t change the past!”

“But we can change the future!” Luke’s voice was overflowing with passion and frustration, “We don’t have to let the past define us, and I’ll do whatever it takes to make the future right. Can’t you trust me on that?”

“How could I possibly trust-” she grabbed at her hair and heaved a heavy sigh, “We’re done here, Luke. I apologize for any worry I caused you. Please just leave me alone.”

She turned around and went into what seemed to be Ian’s bedroom and slammed the door. Luke stood still, paralyzed and broken. To think, he began his day believing he’d get to succeed in both his career and his relationship, but instead, he lost both.

He turned towards Ian. The moose was still sitting on the sofa, drinking tea.

“Are you enjoying yourself?” the rapper asked, voice dripping with resentment.

Ian looked at him and scoffed, “You really think this situation is fun for me?”

He picked up his now empty mug and brought it to the sink, “You know, Luke, when I found out you were dating Hana, I obviously knew something was up, but… even I didn’t think it would be this bad. I thought you had at least a little decency. I can’t even imagine what would’ve happened if I hadn’t found her on my way home.”

Luke didn’t respond. He didn’t even have the energy to think anymore. He was physically exhausted from his search and emotionally drained from the turmoil he went through today. He would’ve done anything to be able to go back in time and fix his mistakes.

“Well, thank you for dropping by,” Ian stated after quickly rinsing his mug and placing it in the dishwasher, “but I’m afraid I’m gonna have to ask you to get the fuck out of my apartment.”

With narrowed eyes, he wordlessly obeyed, quickly placing Hana’s phone on the nearest countertop and heading towards the exit.

“Thank you for taking care of her,” he mumbled before returning to the pouring rain. 

Once he closed the door and heard it lock behind him, he headed down the stairs and called his chauffeur to be picked up.

As Luke sat slumped over against the side of the apartment building, waiting for his limousine, he finally allowed himself to do it.

He cried. His heart felt empty. His body felt numb. His mind felt on the verge of explosion.

All he had left was regret. 


	14. Denial

**Chapter 14: Denial**

Hana cautiously strode into the testing room for the literature final exam. Her eyes scanned the vicinity, searching for the one person she was trying to avoid. Eventually, she spotted the target by his signature black snapback. He was sitting towards the far right corner of the room, thankfully facing away from the door.

_ What if you’re being too hard on him?  _

The pink-haired girl shook the thought out of her head. She couldn’t deny that she missed him, but she knew the pain would go away eventually and that it would be for the best. 

As if sensing her eyes on the back of his head, he redirected his gaze towards her. In a fit of embarrassment, she hid her face with her stack of notes and walked to a seat on the opposite side of the room. She made sure to sit amongst a group of students so that there was no chance of him attempting to sit next to her. 

_ Focus, Hana. Focus. _

Despite her best efforts to stare at the notes she took, the words just looked like jumbled mush. Fighting her better judgement, she glanced back at him to see that he hadn’t taken his eyes off her. Something swirled inside her chest as she watched him give a sad smile before looking back down at his desk.

_ Maybe you should give him another chance? _

Hana slapped the back of her head in an attempt to knock the thought away. She desperately wished she could escape her own mind. 

Luckily, the professor walked in not too long after that and began distributing the final. Unlike the rest of the class, she heaved a sigh of relief, thankful to finally have a proper distraction.

The exam time ticked away with students intermittently turning in their tests and exiting the classroom. Hana had always been a slow test taker: paying attention to every detail and sometimes overthinking questions. She also had full intention to take as much time as possible on this exam to avoid her intrusive thoughts about he-who-shall-not-be-named.

The exam time allotment was excessive, so she had plenty of time to triple check her answers before the professor eventually ended the session. With a quick stretch of her arms, she gathered her belongings and turned in her test. She gave a quick ‘thank you’ to the professor and walked out of the building.

Just as she was contemplating where she should go for lunch, a hand suddenly clamped over her mouth accompanied by an arm around her waist. A small squeal burst from her covered mouth as she was yanked to the side of the building. Hana’s heart pounded against her chest, but when she looked up to see who her kidnapper was, her heart pounded even faster.

“Sorry for surprising you like that,” the familiar rapper spoke quietly.

A part of her wanted to punch him in the gut for scaring her, but another part missed the feeling of his arm around her.

_ God, Hana, how pathetic can you be? _

Luke released his grip, allowing her to turn around and look at him.

“If you were truly sorry, you wouldn’t have done it,” she meant this statement in more ways than one.

The boy sighed, “Can we please talk for a bit?”

“I have nothing to say to you.”

“Well, would you mind just listening to me then?”

Hana stared him down with a grimace, but he had that pure, hopeful look in his eyes that used to always make her weak.

_ You miss him. You want to be with him. _

“Shut up,” she whispered angrily to herself.

Luke gave her a quizzical expression. Great, now she looked like a crazy person, and she sure as hell didn’t want to give him the satisfaction of knowing he had such an effect on her.

“S-sorry, I just…” she rubbed her temples, “it’s been a long morning, and I honestly just want to go get lunch and relax.”

“Can I join you?” he asked sincerely, “I’ll pay.”

She grimaced at him once more, but it was clear that he wasn’t going to let this go until she gave him a chance to speak.

She took a deep breath and reluctantly agreed, “Fine.”

\----------------------------

If awkward tension could kill, any person within a 10-mile radius would have dropped dead. After Hana profusely refused to choose where to eat lunch, Luke suggested the Chinese take-out place right on the edge of campus. Getting the food reminded her of their first unofficial date at the arcade, where they ate Chinese afterwards. Ugh, she hated that everything seemed to remind her of him, not that she could get her mind off of him anyways, considering he was seated directly across from her at one of the outdoor roundtables. 

At least 10 minutes had passed since they sat down, and neither one of them spoke. In fact, Hana could barely even look him in the eyes without feeling a pain in her chest. It was so frustrating.

Eventually, Luke attempted to break the silence, “You look gorgeous today, as always.”

Hana didn’t respond, taking another sip of her drink.

“I always liked when you wore your hair like that,” he gave a gentle grin, referring to her side ponytail.

“Did you just come here to flirt?” she spat, “Because, if so, you can do that with someone else.”

Luke sighed while looking down at his tray, “No, I’m sorry. I just… miss you.”

Hana’s eyes widened a bit. She knew he felt this way considering the myriad of texts and calls from him that she chose to ignore, but it felt different hearing it face-to-face. It felt… genuine… warm… sincere…

_ Tell him you miss him too. _

_ Tell him you’re sorry. _

_ Tell him you love him. _

She bit her lip and clenched her fists underneath the table. This was absolute torture. Damn Luke and his adorable, charming good looks and soothing voice and kind personality and, ugh, just everything! He was perfect, literally everything anyone could ever want in a partner, but she couldn’t let him win her over. 

“That’s not exactly my problem, is it?” she tried to stay as snarky as possible to mask her actual emotions. This whole demeanor she was withholding was so foreign to her; it was difficult.

Luke seemed to visibly fade. The pain in her chest returned. 

“Hana,” he looked at her directly, “What can I do? I’ll do anything to make it up to you.”

“Why are you so insistent on making things up to me? Why can’t you just accept that this is over and move on?” her frustration was obvious.

She placed her hands on the table, “You’re making this harder for me too, you know?”

Luke’s countenance lit up slightly. 

Shit, she wasn’t supposed to show weakness.

“Hana…” his voice was so calming as he gently placed his palm over the back of her hand.

An alarm sounded in the girl’s head, causing her to snatch her hand away. The rapper seemed surprised, but he got the message and slowly brought his hand back.

It was no wonder he used to be such a notorious player. His actions were so endearing, and even the way he spoke always made her feel warm and secure. It hurt to think that she was just another addition to his repertoire. 

“I don’t want to move on,” he explained, devoid of his usual brightness, “I want you and only you, Hana. Like I said before, I can’t change the shitty things I’ve done in the past, but I can prove that I’m different now if you’ll just give me the chance.”

The pink-haired girl was speechless. Every fibre of her being wanted to leap into his arms, tell him all is forgiven, and just go back to being the obnoxiously in love couple that they used to be, but… what message would she be sending by doing that? 

_ Of course it’s fine that you completely abused my trust for your own selfish desires as long as you regret it in the end and apologize! No hard feelings! _

It just wasn’t that simple, at least not in Hana’s eyes. 

“What could you possibly do to rebuild the trust we once had?”

The rapper didn’t seem to expect this response, “Well, uh… I can do anything you want me to do.”

A part of her wanted to laugh. Was this really his plan? The plan he came up with when he was supposedly  _ so _ regretful?

“So you had nothing in mind to make-up for your past actions? You just wanted to rely on me telling you what to do?”

Luke looked panicked, “I mean, you’re the one who was wronged here, so I figured it’d only be right if you decide what I should do, but honestly… I was hoping we could just… go back to being a couple, and I could try to be the best boyfriend possible without the strings attached, you know?”

“So let me get this straight…” her anger had returned, “you were hoping to do essentially  _ nothing _ to make-up for using me. You wanted me to forgive and forget, just go back to being a lovey-dovey couple and ignore anything wrong you ever did to me.”

Luke was starting to be visibly irritated as well, “Babe, look, I could go bungee jump off the highest cliff or humiliate myself in front of the whole school if you wanted me to, but you’re not giving me anything to work with here. How am I supposed to know what you want from me?”

“First of all, do  _ not  _ call me ‘babe,’” she stood, her face turning red, “Second of all, you’re acting as if you just accidentally broke my phone or killed my pet hamster. You can’t just do some grand gesture to make-up for destroying the foundation of our relationship and purposefully treating me like a disposable toy. You seem to be incapable of understanding that it’s next to impossible for me to trust you anymore!”

The boy looked paralyzed. Realizing that she had unintentionally raised her voice, she looked around, acknowledging the captured attention of nearby students. 

Embarrassed, she quickly gathered her belongings.

“I’m leaving. Please don’t bother me anymore,” she mumbled, just audible enough for the rapper to hear.

Without any hesitation, she briskly walked back towards her dorm, avoiding the stares of on-lookers. She fully expected Luke to chase after her, but before long, it became clear that she was wrong. Right when she was about to open the door to her residence hall, she turned around, her heart aching at the empty sight. Not a soul had followed her.

As she entered the dormitory, a sigh fell from her lips. It was official. She had rejected him for the last time, and he had given up. When she reached her bed, her whole body collapsed onto it. Without warning, a leak sprung from her eyes.

She cried. Yes, she had been begging for Luke to leave her alone. Yes, she wanted to move on. Yes, she was the one that refused to let their relationship continue.

Yet it stung just as badly, knowing it was her choice.


	15. Fantasy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: Slight sexual content ahead

**Chapter 15: Fantasy**

“Dude, are you sure you wanna-”

Luke downed another shot without a single change in expression. The taste didn’t even bother him anymore. The sting and vigor of the tequila running down his throat seemed to have died down too.

Paul sighed, “I know you said you wanted to have a couple drinks but this is pretty excessive, don’t you think? The last thing I need is for you to get alcohol poisoning and for me to get a criminal record for underage enabling.”

Luke chuckled, “This isn’t my first rodeo, Paul. I know how much I can handle.”

“If you say so…” Paul pushed away the now empty shot glass and pulled up a chair, “This wouldn’t happen to be about Hana would it?”

The rapper flinched, “No.”

Of course it was about Hana. She was all he could think about, but it seemed like she’d rather die alone than get back together with him. He wanted to fix things, but she clearly had no interest in the possibility. He felt powerless.

These negative thoughts were what led him to asking Paul to join him at his fraternity’s house party. College parties were always a great place to go when you wanted to find free drinks and potential hook-ups, or in Luke’s case, drown your problems in alcohol.

“Are you sure?” Paul’s voice was as sincere as always, “I’d be more than happy to lend an ear.”

By some miracle, none of the Continue? Crew seemed to know what went down between him and Hana. They were aware that the two broke up, but neither of them were willing to spare details. Luke figured Ian would have texted everyone he ever knew and told them what happened to make sure the rapper was as lonely as possible, but he never snitched… at least not yet. 

“I’m positive,” Luke insisted, voice slightly groggy, “I just wanted to celebrate being done with finals. That’s all.”

Paul nodded with his lips pressed together. He didn’t seem convinced but likely didn’t want to argue.

“OK, well I gotta go help my brothers with a couple things, so just holler at me if you need anything.”

With a quick salute, he went off to join the other frat boys in another room. Luke placed his forehead in his hands, relishing in the feeling of his body tingling and head numbing. He let his mind get whisked away by the blaring club music. Despite the high volume, the repetitive rhythm and slight shaking of the house was soothing in its own way.

His jeans pocket vibrated, ripping him from his relaxation. He sloppily pulled out his phone while lifting his head. It was another text from his father.

_Father: “I know the semester is finished. I expect you home by tomorrow.”_

He scrolled through other texts from his dad to which he also failed to respond.

_Father: “I know you are upset, but that is no excuse to avoid coming home.”_

_Father: “If anything, I’m glad this happened. It proved to me that you are still not ready to release your own music.”_

_Father: “Anyone careless enough to sacrifice his career for some foolish peasant girl would be eaten alive by the music industry.”_

Luke angrily turned his phone off and attempted to return to his temporarily relaxed state.

“Hey cutie.”

A girl’s voice shook him back to reality. He looked towards the source and watched her take a seat next to him.

“What’s a hot guy like you doing sitting alone at a party like this?” she winked at him, placing her plastic wine glass onto the table.

The girl had long brown hair with matching brown eyes. Her dark and daring eye make-up was flawlessly complemented by her ruby red lipstick. She wore a form-fitting, maroon dress with a large slit, accentuated by her crossed legs. Luke had no idea who she was.

“Trying to have a good time,” he responded a little aggressively. He just wanted to be left alone at the moment.

“Aren’t we all?” she giggled while brushing her hair behind her ear. 

The girl proceeded to eye him up and down while biting her lip. He took no interest in her actions.

“You know,” she gave a mischievous grin while sliding her hand onto his leg, “I could help show you a good time.”

Just as Luke was about to tell her to buzz off, he took note of his blurred vision and loose muscles. His multiple shots were finally catching up to him. 

Just then, he had an idea, if you could even call it that with how foggy his brain was. The bright colors of the party lights combined with his impaired sight, almost made her hair look… pink. If he thought about it hard enough, her eyes seemed blue too. 

Suddenly, she was a lot more interesting.

“I’d be into that,” he grinned, turning on his natural flirty charm.

The girl smirked while grabbing his hand, “Well, there are a couple rooms upstairs we could use unless you have something else in mind.”

Her voice made his illusion flicker. It was better if she didn’t talk.

“A room sounds good; let’s go,” he insisted quickly, snapping his vision back to the fantasy he desired.

“Eager, aren’t we?” she teased while leading him upstairs.

Much to Luke’s relief, she didn’t speak any further as they walked. He stumbled a few times here and there but wasn’t too dizzy to function properly. 

The first door they passed by was closed with a pink thong hanging off the handle, signifying that it was occupied. The girl excitedly led the rapper to a room with an open door. As soon as they were inside, she used her own underwear to claim the room as their own. 

Meanwhile, Luke was dealing with his own internal crisis. Without the party lights, it was nearly impossible to picture her brown hair as the color he wanted. He squinted his eyes in an attempt to obscure his vision further, but the results were still negative.

“So…” she shut the door and approached the rapper who had mindlessly slumped onto the bed, “where should we begin?”

Her hair. Her eyes. Her voice. They were all wrong.

Fiercely, he grabbed her waist and pulled her onto him.

“Talk less,” he commanded before smashing his lips onto hers.

The girl flinched in shock initially but gladly obeyed.

With his eyes closed, his fantasy could finally commence. He could pretend that the hands sliding up his chest were hers. He could pretend the lips brushing against his own were hers. He could pretend that the body he felt laying on top of him was hers. He could pretend the hair he felt caressing his cheek was hers. Finally, he could escape reality into the perfect fantasy world he envisioned.

He moved his head to start kissing her neck. She sharply exhaled in response, leaning further into him. Luke began to notice the strong smell of her vanilla perfume. 

_Hana hates the smell of vanilla._

Attempting to redirect his attention, he returned to kissing her lips and began running his fingers through her hair. She grabbed his wrist and moved his hand to start feeling her chest instead.

_Hana used to love when I brushed her hair while we kissed._

Becoming aggravated, he pushed the girl over to pin her back onto the bed. Without hesitation, he recaptured her lips, still not going beyond making out. She was growing impatient and reached down to start unzipping his jeans. 

This wasn’t exactly foreign territory to Luke, but it still didn’t feel right. 

_Hana and I have never gone this far…_

No. He couldn’t do it. Although it seemed his partner was fine with a quick hook-up, he still couldn’t let his first physically intimate moment with Hana be one that he forcefully imagined. One that he just attempted to concoct himself. One that… didn’t actually involve her.

“I can’t do this,” he panted, pulling himself off the brunette.

“Wh-what?!” she exclaimed, her face full of betrayal and exasperation, “What do you mean you can’t do this?”

“I-I’m sorry. I’m really sorry,” he re-zipped his jeans, grabbed his hat, and bolted out of the room as quickly as his wobbly sense of direction could take him. 

He gently closed the door behind him and watched as the house started to spin. This wasn’t good. He needed Paul.

Clinging onto the handrail for dear life, he clumsily descended the staircase. The loud music was giving him a terrible headache at this point. Thankfully, Paul had returned to the main living room and was watching some guys play a round of beer pong.

“P-Paul!” Luke called out to him as he reached the bottom of the stairs.

At the sound of his name, he turned, eyes popping out of his head at the sight of his friend looking like he was about to collapse.

“Yo, Luke, are you OK?” he asked, grabbing onto the rapper’s shoulder to hold him steady.

“Not really I-” a hiccup interrupted his sentence, “could really use a hand getting back to my dorm. I don’t know if I can make it on my own.”

Paul sighed and pulled Luke’s arm, slinging it around his own shoulders, “I’ll save the ‘I-told-you-so’s for tomorrow morning.”

Luke laughed, much more than he would have normally and allowed Paul to lead him out the front door of the fraternity house.

Slow and not-so-steady, the duo began the trek to Luke’s dormitory. It was actually only a couple blocks away, but with how uncoordinated the rapper’s feet had become, the journey was definitely going to take a while.

It was generally silent, with only a couple interjections of “You doing alright?” from Paul to which Luke would simply nod his head. 

Eventually, he couldn’t stay silent anymore, “Paul, I lied.”

The boy looked surprised, “Huh?”

“I lied. Tonight _was_ about Hana. I can’t stop thinking about her. I miss her so fucking bad, but she’s probably erased me from her head already. I’m such a pathetic dumbass.”

Paul gave a reassuring smile and rubbed his friend’s back, “You’re not a pathetic dumbass… let’s talk about this more tomorrow, OK?’

Luke nodded again. He felt super glad to have the friends he had, even if he didn’t deserve them.

After fumbling all the way to his dorm, Luke plopped his body onto his bed. Paul was even kind enough to pull the covers over him. After turning off the light, Paul exited the room and shut the door gently behind him. 

Luke’s consciousness faded in and out, his thoughts becoming fuzzy. As he drifted off to sleep, he briefly considered his next course of action. Maybe he was just a hopeless, lovestruck moron, but he wasn’t ready to give up yet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We stan a writing binge lmao.  
> Anyways, this set of chapters was major sad hours, which was rather draining to write. Don't worry though; things will pick back up. It's just difficult with these 2 stubborn idiots.
> 
> As always, thanks for taking the time to read this mess, and I hope you're all having a swell week so far. <3


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